If YouTube is an important part of your social media strategy, then you might be eager to learn how to get more YouTube subscribers.
As the most popular video-sharing platform, YouTube has around 247 million viewers in the United States alone.
So, if you’re looking to grow your YouTube channel, you need strategies to stand out, especially when you’re putting out videos in a highly competitive and crowded niche.
This article explores ways to go from zero to your first 100, 1K, 10K (and even more) subscribers.Hint: Tip #2 gets results in just a short time! 😉
Why You Shouldn't Buy YouTube Subscribers
Before discussing how to increase YouTube subscribers organically, here’s the reason to avoid buying subscribers in case you feel tempted to do it:
It’s not going to work at all.
First, there’s a huge possibility that these subscribers are bot-generated. Next, bought YouTube subscribers aren’t truly interested in the content you offer. This will cause your channel to perform poorly in terms of driving engagement, quality traffic to your website, and conversions. Simply put, these fake subscribers are less likely to become your customers.
In contrast, organic subscribers subscribe because they’re interested in your content — meaning that they’ll be around to interact with and share your videos and even buy from you in the future.
Plus, when you’re working hard to grow your YouTube channel, you’re also learning how to create quality videos that your audience will love. This is because you’ll discover what they like over time through trial and error.
How to Get More YouTube Subscribers
Ready to learn how to increase YouTube subscribers organically? Follow these tips.
1. Set realistic and action-oriented YouTube goals.
Let’s say that you just started a YouTube channel. Are you setting a realistic goal when it comes to growing your subscribers?
Getting 1,000 subscribers in 2 weeks as a beginner isn’t probably going to happen.
Remember that succeeding on YouTube takes time (and a ton of experimenting and learning), which is why managing your expectations is important.
The key is to set goals based on actions you can control. For example, to get more subscribers, an action-oriented goal would be something like, “Release a new video once a week” or “Tell a good story in my videos to hook my viewers.”
2. Run an UpViral contest and build a custom action.
If you already do contests as part of your overall marketing strategy or you’re still thinking of starting one, know that contests can actually help you collect YouTube subscribers.
The trick is to use UpViral’s “custom actions” feature. Simply head over to the Actions section of your campaign in the UpViral app and click the “Add Custom action” button.
From there, you can create a specific custom action that gives contest entrants an option to subscribe to your YouTube channel to earn more points. Here’s a screenshot:
💎Pro Tip: Entice your participants with higher points per custom action. When they see that they get more points to increase their chances of winning in your contest, they’re more likely to complete that action, which is subscribing to your channel.
We were able to demonstrate how effective an UpViral contest can be in generating new YouTube subscribers in our Max Rhymes case study.
Max Rhymes, a brand that sells children’s books, used an UpViral custom action to attract 500 YouTube subscribers on top of other brand goals like collecting over 7,878 email leads, nearly 1,000 Facebook fans, and 500 Twitter followers.
If they did it, you can, too!
💡Here’s another important tip on how to get more subscribers on youtube for free using contests:
Always choose an incentive that attracts your target audience. Give away something that your ideal customer wants, like your own product or something closely related.
By doing this, you can be sure that you’re also attracting genuine, quality YouTube subscribers.
3. Create only the best content in your space.
What’s the best content to create on YouTube?
There’s much more to YouTube than simply posting random stuff like funny animals, gossip videos, and parodies. While these are entertaining and can potentially go viral, the key is to post content that people in your space care about.
Fundamentally, it boils down to educating your audience in such a way that they can rely on you for the best advice.
Let’s say, for example, you’re specializing in food photography, like Joanie Simon of The Bite Shot.
It would make sense for you to create content around that interest. You could create video tutorials on taking photos in various lighting setups, share your top food styling tools, and take your viewers behind the scenes on one of your food shooting gigs.
You get the idea.
Your competitors can actually be great sources of inspiration to kickstart your video-making efforts. However, instead of just copying their content, find ways for your videos to be more valuable, entertaining, and thought-provoking.
4. Create attention-grabbing intros.
Research shows that you can lose 20% of your video views after just 10 seconds. This tells us that the first few seconds of your YouTube videos — in other words, your intro — greatly affect engagement.
Elements of a good video introduction can include the following:
- Branding: Your logo, colors, famous tagline, and style that will allow people to make a connection with your brand.
- Hook: There are different types of hooks that entice an audience. You can start by revealing what the video is about, surprising them with a fact, starting with a problem or a story, or asking a question.
- Clarity: Engaging video intros don’t beat around the bush. They send a distinct message so that viewers understand the whole point of the video.
5. Make a playlist to enhance your audience experience.
A YouTube playlist is simply a collection of videos on a common subject.
If you want people to easily find certain videos on your channel, for instance, videos on managing your business, then create a playlist for that. Our very own UpViral founder Wilco de Kreij does this on his YouTube channel.
Check out the screenshot below:
Think of YouTube playlists as a video content curation strategy that enhances your viewers’ experiences. They won’t need to search through your videos to find the information and strategies they need on a topic. And as a result, they’re more likely to hit the “subscribe” button.
💡As a bonus tip, ask your audience about what they would like for a playlist. Let them suggest video content ideas. You can ask them through email (if you email them regularly) or from each video you create, at the end of the video as a call-to-action.
6. Give a thumbs up, heart, and answer your YouTube comments.
Interacting with your YouTube comments — such as responding to their comments or simply “hearting” or liking them — is a great way to keep the conversation going and get them to subscribe.
Each time you interact with comments, those who comment get a notification and have a reason to revisit your channel.
If you choose to reply to a comment, it’s best that you do it in a timely matter. Additionally, you can ask a follow-up question (depending on the person’s comment) or recommend another video that might interest them.
Keep your response positive and uplifting, and use a personal tone to increase authenticity and make you more approachable as a business.
Final Thoughts
Are you currently using these tips to grow your subscribers on YouTube? If so, what did you find most effective? We’d love to know them in the comments below.
But, if you haven’t applied these yet, start by setting achievable goals. Plan and create the best content based on what you know about your target audience (their problems and interests). Hook them in with winner intros, curated playlists, and genuine interactions in the comments section.
Last but not least, use UpViral to grow your YouTube channel easier! It’s a great supplement to your current marketing strategy. ☝️💡
For example, if you want to attract more email leads, run an UpViral contest to collect email subscribers (and grow your email list further) plus increase your YouTube channel subscribers using an UpViral custom action. Get started right here!
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