In this article, you will learn my 9 step formula to grow your YouTube channel from zero.
Just get started
Most people do a lot of research, and they never take action. Even though there are tons of channels where people don’t have to show their faces, they still don’t start their YouTube channel.
I made this mistake, and I wasted so much time in researching the best strategies to grow a YouTube channel but took almost a year to get started.
You can always learn and improve while you are doing it.
So stop procrastinating and take action right away.
Your actions will keep you motivated. Trust me.
One Niche
You cannot have a YouTube channel with videos on ten different topics unless it’s a news channel.
When you look at the top channels, they make videos on one niche.
Because YouTube will suggest your videos to your viewers and if it is on the same topic, they will watch it, which will bring them back to your channel, and at the same time, it will increase your overall watch time.
Also, your new videos are notified to your subscribers, and if it is irrelevant to them, they will not click, and it will affect your CTR.
We will talk about watch time and CTR in the later steps, but the point here is to come up with a niche.
How do you know if your niche is right?
Go to YouTube and search your niche, and if you find some channels with 100k subscribers, then it’s the right niche.
In general, you need to be in a niche where there is a good number of audience, so your videos will get a chance to go viral when shown in the suggested section.
Once you have decided your niche, moving to the next step is where most people find it difficult.
What others are reading: 13 YouTube channel ideas without showing your face.
Complete basic YouTube setup
I know you will be super excited to upload your first video, but before that, at least you should finish your basic YouTube channel setup.
It is straightforward, and you can do it very quickly if you have a checklist of items to complete.
Read this article on how to set up your YouTube channel in the right way.
Make content that people want to see
Again, I have made this mistake a lot of time and yell at everyone for not watching my videos.
It took me a while to understand that what I like is not everyone is going to want.
So, doing some research on what people are searching on YouTube or what videos are going viral on YouTube will give you some ideas.
You can use a chrome extension called VidIQ to find viral videos and popular search queries.
You can read more on how to use VidIQ from this article.
Keep people on YouTube
If you master this skill, you are going to blow up your YouTube channel.
When people try to figure out the YouTube algorithm, they talk about YouTube embeds, social signals, bla bla bla.
Trust me, none is required. All you need to do is keep your audience on YouTube, especially on your channel.
That’s the success formula.
One simple tactic is to make a video series.
When you see one of your videos doing well, go ahead and make a part 2 video and recommend your audience to watch at the end of your video.
You can use your end cards to show your part 2 video, and also you can leave a link in the description.
This way, you can keep them on your channel, and when people keep watching them, you will get the suggested video spot as well.
In addition, place your playlist and other relevant video links in your description.
I have seen many YouTubers do this, you too would have noticed.
Increase your watch time
Watch time is one of the critical YouTube metrics that you should be aware of since it determines the success of your video.
So what is a watch time on YouTube?
Watch time is the amount of time a user spends watching your video.
More the watch, the better, and that’s why many people create longer YouTube videos, and they keep the best part in the middle or at the end.
One important information to remember is to start your channel with a hook, and it should be to the point.
If a user has clicked your video to learn about starting a YouTube channel, you should get to the point directly and not waste time asking users to like and subscribe.
It makes viewers click off of your video, and that’s the perfect recipe for killing your video growth.
So, the best time to call out to subscribe is after you give great information in your video.
That’s when they are more likely to like and subscribe.
Also, do not do it in the end because that’s when you are going to ask people to check your next relevant video.
Increase your YouTube CTR
What if you have fantastic content, and nobody clicks your video.
This is very common in YouTube beginners, and this makes many people quit.
However, creating a decent thumbnail is not very hard.
Even a simple app like canva can do that for you.
You can watch this video to learn how to create a great YouTube thumbnail using canva.
What is a good click-through rate on YouTube?
As per YouTube, on average 50% channel get between 2% to 10%. So its completely normal to be on this range when you are just starting.
Also, I have an article on how to increase your YouTube CTR – worth reading.
Use YouTube analytics
It is a powerful tool to learn what is doing well and what are the things to improve.
Consider it like a good friend. It will help you understand what is going on on your YouTube channel.
The metrics that I discussed above can be viewed on your analytics dashboard.
In the beginning, it may be daunting, but once you start using it, you will realize how valuable it is.
You can learn more about YouTube analytics by reading this article.
Never give up
I usually watch a video that will motivate me not to give up.
You may have something else to stay motivated.
So when you feel like giving up, do or listen to whatever that motivates you.
In case you want to know the video that I watch to stay motivated, check this on YouTube.
