You want to get more views on YouTube, but you’re not sure how.
There are thousands of articles and blog posts about this topic, but they all tell you different things.
The only way to know what works is by testing out the methods yourself. But that takes a lot of time and effort!
We’ve put together 15 tips that work for both beginner and advanced marketers alike.
These tips will help you gain more subscribers and make your videos go viral instantly!
1. Carve out Your Own Niche
If you’ve been using Youtube for a while, you know that even if your video is amazing and gets lots of views, it won’t get very much engagement.
That’s because there are thousands upon thousands of people who make similar videos to what you do.
That means their videos will show up in the related section.
Some channels have so many videos in the related section that it’s hard to find their original uploads!
So how do you stand out from this competition?
Defining your target audience and carving out a niche is a great way to do it.
Instead of trying to appeal to everyone, identify a specific group of people who would be interested in your videos.
Do you make cooking videos? Make a video about the best ways to cook a particular dish.
Do you take beauty tutorials? Talk about how to get that perfect cat-eye eyeliner look.
You don’t have to limit your target audience to one group either.
For example, if you’re a beauty blogger, you can make videos about how to be successful in business as well.
This gives you the opportunity to tap into two groups who may not have seen your other videos.
2. Make Eye-catching Video Previews (Titles and Thumbnails)
Your video title and thumbnail are the two most important things that will help you get more views on YouTube.
People may click on your video because of bad titles or thumbnails, but they’ll stop watching after a few seconds if it’s boring.
So how do you keep viewers intrigued?
Make sure your title is descriptive without giving everything away.
Don’t just title your video “How to do Striped Hair” if you’re not going to actually show how to do it.
People want something that’s enticing, but also gives them what they want.
The same thing goes for thumbnails – these are the images that will be shown in the related section for videos similar to yours.
Try to include a scene from the video so people have an idea of what it will be about.
You can also use templates online to save yourself time and effort!
3. Use Annotations Strategically
Annotations are little boxes that pop up on a screen with a call-to-action or a link to another video.
But have you ever noticed that they can be distracting?
If too many pop up at once, people will automatically skip them.
Instead of having your viewers clicking off your screen in frustration, try to use annotations strategically.
Put important information like a website or the ending of the video in an annotation (for example ” Youtube.com/c/MyYoutubeChannel”).
You can also use annotations to tell viewers when you’ll upload your next video so they don’t have to keep checking your page!
Hashtags are little keywords that people use to categorize their posts.
They’ve become so unimportant on some social media platforms like Instagram, but they’re still important on YouTube!
Hashtags can also be useful for branding your channel and helping people find you based on what you like to make videos about.
For example, if I was creating cooking videos, I might use #food or #recipes.
Hashtags can also help people find you if they search for videos that are similar to what you post.
For example, someone searches “how to do a cat-eye” and my video could come up because it has the same hashtag!
5. Make a Video Schedule and Stick to It
Shooting videos is hard work! Even if you’re just talking in front of a camera, it can take up a lot of your time.
And since YouTube is such a popular platform, it’s important for people to see your content regularly.
Otherwise, they’ll forget about you.
That’s why it’s a good idea to make a video schedule and stick to it.
For example, if I upload every Wednesday at 2 pm, people will know when to expect my videos.
This also helps viewers who subscribe to your channel because they’ll automatically get notified of new videos.
Ideally, the best times to post are:
- Monday to Wednesday: 2–4 p.m. EST
- Thursday and Friday: 12–3 p.m. EST
- Saturday and Sunday: 9–11 a.m. EST
6. Encourage Interaction Between Viewers and Comment on Other Videos
If you’re a smaller YouTuber, it’s important that your viewers interact with you!
And if they do start leaving comments, try to respond. This is just good practice for anyone who posts videos online – people want to know they’re being heard.
It shows that what they said matters to you.
People may start leaving more comments on your videos because they know it has a better chance of showing up in your inbox. Or, even if it doesn’t, at least you tried!
7. Post Videos With Prominent Names or Brands
If you’re making videos with other brands or popular names in the industry, it might be a good idea to post them on certain days.
For example, if I was doing a fashion blog post with another YouTuber, I’d try to do it on Fridays.
This is because people are often watching videos on their days off- like weekends – so more of your audience will be online.
If you’re already working hard to produce content for your channel every day, you don’t want to upload it when fewer people are watching!
8. Encourage subscription to Get More Views on Youtube
There are so many amazing YouTubers out there who have millions of subscribers! Why shouldn’t you be one of them?
You can start off by encouraging people to subscribe in your videos.
You can put a little button in the bottom corner that says something like “Subscribe for More” or “Check Out My Other Videos”.
9. Use Captions to Cater for Non-native Audience
You might be making videos in English, but what about people who speak other languages? Or people who are deaf or hard of hearing?
That’s why it’s important to caption your videos so everyone can enjoy them.
Even though the YouTube captions videos automatically, it’s important to make sure the text is accurate and up to date.
It’s also a good idea to add extra information in the descriptions so people who are watching with subtitles have access to more info.
10. Optimise YouTube Videos for Search Engines (SEO)
It’s important to make sure you’re taking advantage of SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) on your YouTube videos.
For example, if you were to type “How To Make A Cake” into Google, a video would likely show up at the top and that’s because it has good SEO!
So what is this?
It’s basically making sure your videos have the right tags and titles so that they show up when people search for certain things.
For example, if you were to type “How To Make A Rose Cake” into Google, my video would likely show up because I’ve included “Rose Cake” in the title!
There are a ton of guides online that explain how to do this properly, but a good rule of thumb is to just add the main keyword you chose in the title and description.
11. Be an Expert in Your Field
It’s important for people to trust your opinions so it’s a good idea to be somewhat of an expert.
Try not to sound like you’re guessing, but also don’t over-exaggerate your knowledge.
When you know something, say it! Even if you end up being wrong, later on, people will appreciate that you were honest about your opinions.
12. Use a Playlist to Enhance Longer Viewing Sessions
Are you uploading longer videos that could be broken up into different parts? Then it might be a good idea to use playlists!
For example, I’m currently uploading a 12-part series called “How To Build A Shed”.
It’s actually one video but each part has been uploaded separately so people can watch whatever they want.
But, if they’re interested in watching the whole thing from start to finish, they can look at all the episodes on a playlist and watch it that way.
13. Link to Other Videos in Your Descriptions
If you’re uploading a video and it’s mentioning other videos in the description, link them in so people can click on it and watch!
This will also send your current viewers over to another channel which is great for both of you.
For example, if I uploaded a video called “How To Make A Rose Cake” and someone commented asking if I could make a four-tier version, I’d reply by linking them to my video on how to make a Four-Tier Wedding Cake!
It’s also great for your viewers who are interested in other videos. They’ll be able to click on it easily without going to a different channel.
14. Put the Best Bits at the Beginning of a Video
If people are going to watch your YouTube video, you want them to see what they came for as quickly as possible.
So put the best parts first and have it so that if someone is interested, they can keep watching!
It’s also a good idea to put the best parts near the beginning of the description.
15. Get Featured by Youtubers with Big Audiences
This is a tough one because your channel probably isn’t big enough to get featured on an account with hundreds of thousands of subscribers.
However, it’s not completely impossible!
You can still get featured by asking YouTubers who already have a large audience to feature you!
They might do it so they can help out smaller channels or for whatever reason they want.
Also, make sure that your channel is linked somewhere in your descriptions so it’s easy for them to access your channel.
If they click on it and like what they see, there’s a good chance they might feature you!
But make sure that your channel is decent quality with engaging content or else they won’t bother with you.
So those are some tips on how to get more views on YouTube!
Conclusion
I’m sure you can think of a few more useful tips so let me know what they are in the comments section below! If you have any questions about anything, just ask away.
Thanks for reading!
I hope that you found this useful and if you did, share it with others who could benefit from it as well!
Thank you for reading this article and if you have any questions, just ask away in the comments section below!
