YouTube is one of the biggest social media and search platforms on the internet. The number of searches completed on the platform daily is only second to Google, which owns the platform.
However, marketing on the platform isn’t easy, and numerous creators fail and give up. So if you want to make it work, here is the complete beginners’ guide.
Start with a Clear Niche
One of the biggest challenges for YouTubers is cornering a niche that will appeal to audiences. Lifestyle bloggers tend to fail because their life is like dozens of other vloggers or lifestyle influencers.
Nothing compels the audience to pay attention to them. Therefore, you need a niche that makes you slightly different from others. For example, as a lifestyle blogger, you could live in the outback or a house built into the side of a mountain.
Get Some Investment in Views
Views on your vids are very important. There are numerous ways to give yourself a head start. The first option is to promote your video on other marketing channels. Email, social media, and on your website are all good places to promote your content without cost.
You can also ask friends and family to watch your video. However, they can only add one each, as YouTube will notice someone watching the same video a few times and then reduce the watch countdown. You can also buy 500 YouTube views which help to get the ball rolling with 500 viewers new to your brand.
Build a Brand Not a Channel
YouTubers who are successful are making a great brand, not just a channel. As a result, they use other platforms to build knowledge of their brand and communicate with audiences.
Discord, Facebook, Instagram, and Reddit can be critical to the success of brands looking to generate revenue from their channels. Communities are loyal to the YouTubers they watch, often spending money on memberships and merchandise. However, you must reach out and speak to them on other platforms.
Release Videos at a Consistent Schedule
When starting out, many creators tend to start publishing content on an irregular basis. Or, worse, they create content for a few weeks, publish on a schedule and then run out of steam and start to publish at a slower rate.
Numerous issues can arise from this. One is that loyal audiences will no longer follow you and will drop off. Get those audiences to trust you and be regular with your content, publishing at the same time.
Release Videos at the Best Time
Publish your content at the optimal time for your niche. This will depend on your niche and the audience. You might need to look at how others are releasing their videos. For example, if you notice that there are lots of competitors releasing their vids at 9 pm on a Wednesday, this might be a good option for you. Releasing videos at the right time allows you to attract more views.
Ensure you Retain Audiences
Retention of current audiences is far more effective and costs less than attracting new audiences. To retain your audience, there are several strategies. You can get them included in some membership options, like using Patreon or Buy Me a Coffee. This allows you to monetize your YouTube video and build a loyal following.
Or add segments to your videos to remind audiences to subscribe to your videos and receive notifications. Talking to audiences during the video by asking them questions and telling them you appreciate it can help improve subscribers.
Improve Release Frequency
The algorithm has some interesting criteria for choosing what to display. One of the most important factors is the number of times you publish content per week. Many gamers and some other brands have found that publishing videos daily is the way to build an audience.
Daily posting is easily achieved if you’re willing to do shorter videos. Many who’ve made it to the top of YouTube have found that vids about 12 minutes long perform better than shorter or longer videos. While there is some flexibility in this length, ideally you never want to be shorter than 10 minutes and never longer than 15.
Communications on YouTube
Numerous elements make audiences feel connected to the creators on YouTube. One essential task is to reply to comments on the vids and in the community bar on the channel. Spend time daily checking your statistics and comments to see if you can build a loyal following.
Even if you just thank the commentator, you demonstrate that you’re an engaged creator. However, in some niches, like in culture-based videos, creators can have long conversations with viewers about their experience.
Improve Quality
Some unspoken rules on YouTube can help you build a better channel. Ensuring that you post high-quality content is vital. The channel header should be created professionally, for example.
You also need to ensure that you have thumbnails that display aspects of your channel that are interesting. YouTube will also prefer that you have video thumbnails that include your face. If you don’t appear on the screen, show your face as much as possible on the thumbnail.
Monetization of your Videos
At some point, think about monetization. While many consider YouTube adverts the way to go, few can make a living off this revenue stream. YouTube generally pays between $0.01 and $0.03 for an ad view.
And many people skip adverts, with one study showing 65% skipping the adverts, and therefore, creators don’t get paid. So for $18, you need 1000 ad views or 2,800 video views. Therefore, creators look for other ways to raise revenues. Good options include merchandise, sponsored videos, affiliate marketing, membership programs, and selling their services.
Keep Going
It is important to note that success is never instant on YouTube. While you might get some success on the channel in the early stages, long-term success is usually the result of months of working hard to get your videos out.
Sometimes, with the right SEO optimization, one video might become popular, but it doesn’t always equal lots of people following your channel in the long term. Despite the slow progress, it is always important to keep going. Only through determination and perseverance will you succeed. Giving up because it is not instant will never allow you to succeed.
Published by HOLR Magazine.