YouTube is the second-largest search engine in the world. And just like other major search engine platforms, YouTube keeps changing its algorithm over time. This means to see significant YouTube channel growth, you need to have a proper strategy and plan in place.

With 6 out of 10 people, choosing online video platforms over live TVs, and YouTube having an average of 2 billion monthly active users, you’re not going to be wrong investing what you have into growing on the platform. 

The YouTube marketing strategy one person used to realize certain YouTube channel growth 4 years ago would need an overhaul and upgrade before you’ll be able to experience a similar YouTube channel growth today. 

Whether you’re using it as your main platform, or you’re leveraging the platform to increase brand awareness, drive blog traffic, or make YouTube an additional stream of income for yourself, these 21 tips will help you increase your channel’s growth. 

 These are evergreen tactics and they are applicable to any YouTube niche whether you have a travel channel, beauty channel or a channel that shares entrepreneurial tips.

Okay let’s get into the tips.

1. Write Compelling Titles

We all know how discouraging it can be for a content creator to spend hours coming up with great content ideas, as well as on the pre-production and post-production process, but only at the end get your video viewed by just few people.

Well, the fact is that no one is going to know how great of a video you’ve got to offer, unless they start watching it. 

Your title is the first impression people have of your video. So it is important to make sure that it is interesting enough for people to want to watch it. 

With that said, you have to compel your audience by putting in front of them catchy and click worthy titles so that they can click on your videos without thinking twice. 

How many times have you clicked on a YouTube video without thinking twice because the title was drawing you to click the video. Likewise, your titles should like that for other people, compelling and hard to resist.

When your titles are irresistible, more people will view your video and in so doing, the algorithm will start to put your video in front of more people.

Here are a few tips to help you come up with compelling video titles;

  • Include the right keywords within your titles 

If you don’t know what keyword research is then you are sabotaging your own growth as a youtuber or blogger. Here is a beginner’s guide that explains everything you need to know.

  • Keep the title precise; don’t go beyond 60 characters.

People come on YouTube to watch videos not to read. However they have to read something before they decide what to watch. Don’t make this too much reading for them. However don’t make it too short that it becomes too general and unappealing 

  • Describe the context of the video.

With the titles being catchy and precise, it also needs to provide some context of what the video is about. The reason many people click a video and leave after a few seconds is that, what they saw on the title is not what was in the video. This is called clickbait.

When the title gives a good idea of what the video is about, then you are attracting people who are interested in your content and who will be more likely to subscribe and become return visitors

– Tell potential viewers what’s in it for them.

– Titles are suppose to be teasers and should be descriptive of the whole concept. 

2. Use Eye-Catching Thumbnails

Are you a fan of scrolling through YouTube videos, looking for an interesting video to watch? Where exactly do you keep your eyes focused on? I guess within the thumbnails, and if you are specific about a topic, you’ll be looking more at the titles.

Thumbnails and titles are the first Impressions that’ll capture people’s attention to your video. Just like titles, thumbnails should be as descriptive of the concept and appealing as possible.

Some people browse through titles, others browse through thumbnails and most people look at both.

So, you should consider thumbnails to be just as important as your title if not more important. 

While using thumbnails, make sure to go for high-resolution thumbnails like 1280×720 or 1920×1080. Sizes below this may blur your thumbnails.

Make sure to use bright and high contrast images on your thumbnails to make them stand out and to capture the attention of your target audience.

Facial expressions like amazement, sadness, happiness, and many others tend to perform great as thumbnails. The key however, is to be as creative, and descriptive as possible when designing your thumbnails.

3. Use Call-to-Actions (CTA)

Many people aren’t going to subscribe if you don’t tell them to do it. Same goes for likes and shares.

This is why in your videos and in their descriptions you’ll need to let them know that you need their subscriptions, videos likes/shares, and that you want them to watch more of your videos.

As important as CTAs are, when it comes to helping to grow your YouTube channel, they could also affect the experience of your viewers when you make them too frequent and disruptive. 

Don’t also spend a huge portion of the video telling people to subscribe or engage with your content. 

When you offer value in your videos, people will naturally want to subscribe to your content and check out more of your content. 

So your main focus should be on providing the value they are here for. That’s more effective in convincing them to subscribe than spending a big part of the video telling them to subscribe.

So while the CTA is very important, it should be done strategically.

4. Share Your Videos on Social Platforms 

Social media platforms are great places to promote YouTube videos, and if you have a dedicated social media handle or group for your YouTube channel, that’s an additional advantage for you to grow YouTube subscribers.

Make sure whenever you post a new video, you also share it on social media.

Apart from your immediate subscribers, your social media community is the next group of people you should be targeting and promoting your YouTube channel’s videos to.

Twitter, Instagram, Tiktok, Facebook groups and Pinterest are examples of places you can advertise and share your YouTube videos.

5. Collaborate with Other YouTubers, Bloggers, and Podcasts

There can be a synergy between you and other YouTubers, and this trend has proved to be helpful to several content creators to grow YouTube subscribers.

You can interview famous YouTubers or have them interview you in their channels or promote each other from your respective channels, so you can both tap from each other’s viewership.

6. Niche Down 

Right from the start of your journey on YouTube, you need to sit down and plan what your channel’s niche will be. This is what you will be known for on the platform. This step is important because it is what will determine what kind of content you create for your YouTube channel.

You need to carefully figure out the types of videos you want to be making. Whichever niche you choose to concentrate on, you’ll need to stick to it, and build your audience, keywords, and expertise based on that.

Many people make the mistake of being inconsistent in their niches, and fail to secure their YouTube channel quality subscribers and directional growth.

People are more likely to subscribe to your channel if they can associate it with a certain niche or niches.

Here is a post that will teach you how to create content that is evergreen.

7.  Be Consistent

It can be a bit difficult to maintain consistency when producing and uploading videos, but if you’re looking to increase your chances of success on YouTube, then you need to commit to being consistent in your video uploads.

The best way to keep consistent is to set a day or two and you make that day or two your upload day. That way your subscribers know they can expect new content from you on that day. 

And because of that expectancy you will push yourself to make sure you have content to upload on those days.

The consistency will also help you get favor with the algorithm and it starts to push your video to more people which then increases your views and subscribers and ultimately grows your YouTube channel.

8. Have a Compelling Channel Trailer

Make sure to have a channel trailer that briefs people coming to your channel coming to your channel about the kind of videos you upload.

The trailer is their first point of contact after the title and thumbnail, and is what can hook them to stay tuned to your video and watch more.

It also gives your videos a professional look and feel, coupled with insights about what value people will be getting when they subscribe or return to your channel.

9. Leverage YouTube Intro and Outros

The intro is the first few seconds of your videos and the outro is the last seconds of the video.

These two could go a long way in making people feel entertained watching your videos, and can also contain CTAs that makes people subscribe or watch more of your videos.

10. Make Good Use of Your Descriptions

The description is a major part of YouTube SEO that many YouTubers neglect. It’s what tells the algorithm what your video is about and helps it know which category your video falls under.

Give a brief introduction of your video in the description area and also include relevant keywords there. 

Keywords are very important because they are what the algorithm use to rank your video in searches relates to your content. They are what determine whether people find your video when the search for a specific topic your content covers.

Try to make use of the word limit you have by including as much information as possible in your description. 

You can also take advantage of the description area by including your call to actions, links to your other videos, your products, blog website, marketing campaigns and more.

11. Group Your Videos

Consider filtering your videos in terms of their relevance and group them as playlists. 

This way, you’ll make it easier for your audience to find related videos on your channel with ease. And with playlists they can easily scroll from one video to another which will in turn bolster up your watch time.

12. Use Closed Captions

This doesn’t just help those with ear impairments to have a grasp on your video context but also helps the algorithm to figure out more things your video speaks about.

Most people also watch YouTube while in quiet environments. If your video has captions, they can still watch your video without needing to put up their volume.

Closed captions also help people who don’t understand English or whose English is not too strong to be able to watch and follow along your videos. 

If they are using a translator it can easily translate your captions to them. 

People whose English is not strong enough to follow what you are saying, can try to follow by identifying words in the captions that they understand.

13. Create Contests and offer Giveaways

Engagement is a strong signal on YouTube and it is a significant factor of the algorithm. Coming up with contests and giving away incentives to the winners is a great way to increase user engagement on your channel. 

When your channel is getting engagement, YouTube will perceive it as a channel worth recommending to a wider audience, and that will attract new subscribers.

Engagement also builds a sense of community which improves loyalty from your subscribers. 

14. Leverage External Sources of Traffic

If you have a blog, social networking group, or an email list, you should consider inviting them over to your channel.

This way, you’ll not only be able to gain more subscribers, but also make YouTube reward you for bringing external traffic to their platform, through widening your outreach.

15. Track Your Analytics

YouTube analytics are great in measuring how successful you are on the platform. You can use them to figure out what you are doing right and what you are doing wrong, so you can fix it.

Study your analytics and figure out which content is performing well so that you can create more of it. 

16. Comment on Other Videos

This is another way to grow your channel – leaving genuine comments on other channels. Target channels in your niche, who have the kind of audiences you want to attract.

Make sure the comments you leave on those channels are genuine, valuable and don’t look spammy.

17. Make the Most out of YouTube Tags

Youtube tags are to YouTube what hashtags are to Instagram. They help your content get in-front of more people and help to increase your reach while also giving the algorithm more information about your content.

Your tags should consist of easy-to-rank and relevant keywords. The more relevant the tags you have in place, the better your chances of ranking and being recommended in similar videos.

18. Encourage Comments

Encourage your viewers to leave some comments. And make sure to respond to the comments whenever you can.

Comments are great signals that show the algorithm that there is engagement on your channel. It tells YouTube that your videos are getting interaction and keeping people engaged on the platform.

19. Let Cards and End Screens do The Work

Whenever you’re uploading a video, make sure you add end screens and cards to it. This helps to redirect people to your other videos. It also gets them to perform certain actions you place within your cards.

End screens and cards can be a great tool to keep people on your channel. This shows the algorithm that your channel is providing value and will help to increase your youtube channel growth over time.

20. Leverage Forum Platforms for Promotion

Forum websites are one way to get more Youtube channel views, that most Youtubers don’t make use of.

Consider taking advantage of Q&A sites like Quora and Reddit to grow YouTube subscribers.

Start by looking for questions relating to the content that you create. When you find them, respond using links to your videos that address those questions.

This method will work for some niches, but not for those whose content does not directly solve problems people may have questions to.

21. Do keyword research 

Learning and knowing how to do keyword research is very important for both bloggers and YouTubers. What is keyword research is? It’s finding what words people are typing on Google or YouTube to find content related to yours. 

Include the keywords in your content description so that search engines can use them to rank your channel. This way more people can find your blog or channel when they search for those keywords.

Wanna learn how to do keyword research? I compiled a free guide to give you an introduction to keyword research and how to do it. You can read it by keyword research guide.

Wrapping Up

If you’ve been vlogging for some time, these 21 youtube channel growth tips will come in handy. However, you should also know that patience and consistency are key to success when it comes to growing a YouTube channel.

What has been your secret YouTube growth hack that has worked for you? Which one are you yet to implement? What other way do you use to increase channel growth on YouTube?

Let me know in the comments below!

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