Have you ever stumbled upon a fantastic YouTube video that had only a couple hundred or thousand views? “What a shame,” you think to yourself. So much effort and ingenuity clearly went into the masterpiece, but it’s sadly not getting the audience it deserves. But how can videos get more views on YouTube?
Understand that worthy content is just one side of finding success as a creator on YouTube. To get more views, accumulate subscribers and start earning significant revenue, you also need exposure.
The following five-step guide explains how to accomplish exactly that. Start at #1 and work your way down to get more views on all of your videos and build a solid foundation for your channel.
#1 Decide on Your Specific Niche
The single biggest mistake you can make as a creator on YouTube is trying to appeal to everyone. In other words — you fail to pick a niche.
What’s a niche? Think of it as a category of video content subject matter. As an example:
- “Fitness” is a broad niche.
- “Building muscle” is a more specific niche.
- “Using calisthenics to build muscle” is an even more specific niche.
In the examples above, “Using calisthenics to build muscle” is likely the most effective niche for your channel.
Here’s why:
- It’s narrow enough to target a very specific audience. If someone is looking to build muscle with calisthenics, all of your videos will likely appeal to that person.
- It’s broad enough to command mass appeal. Plenty of people are looking to build muscle with calisthenics, and there are hundreds of subtopics within that niche that you can make videos about.
Think about it from your own point of view. If you stumble across a creator who made only one video pertaining to a topic you care about, it’s unlikely that you will subscribe to that creator or check out any of their other videos. Your attention is worth one single view.
But if that creator has dozens or hundreds of videos that appeal to you, after watching the first one, you’re infinitely more likely to become a loyal viewer and subscriber — and give the creator a much higher number of views in the long-term.
#2 Implement Basic YouTube SEO Practices
Basic knowledge of search engine optimization (SEO) is imperative if you want to get more views on YouTube. Luckily, YouTube SEO is relatively easy to understand.
When uploading videos, just be sure to include one or two relevant keywords in the title, description and tags. Intentional keyword insertion will tell YouTube exactly what your video is about, which will entice the algorithm to list your video high up in the search results for those particular keyword phrases.
If you need help discovering keywords, check out Answer The Public. All you have to do is insert a word or phrase, and you’ll find dozens of popular questions that people are searching for on YouTube and around the Web.
Creating videos that answer questions people already have is a surefire way to get your foot in the door to getting more views.
#3 Get the Click
Outside of exposure, the number of views that a YouTube video gets is affected by two things:
- The title
- The thumbnail
Your title and thumbnail should be both relevant to your video, but also as enticing as possible. Your video will be listed next to dozens of others, meaning if your video doesn’t look interesting, the view will be awarded to a competitor instead — even if your video is objectively better.
Take a look at other creators within your niche to see what’s working and what’s not — then, put your own unique spin on whatever format you choose to follow.
From there, to generate a higher number of views for all of your videos, be sure to also include end cards on every video you upload. End cards allow you to easily turn one-time viewers into multi-video viewers. Viewers won’t have to trek all the way to your profile — they can just seamlessly click through to whatever videos you promote.
Whenever possible, make sure the end cards on a video mesh well with the original video’s subject matter. Relevancy is key.
#4 Creatively Ask for Likes and Subscribers
Popular creators are generally favored by the YouTube algorithm for two reasons:
- They have a high number of subscribers, meaning their new videos get lots of views right when they’re released.
- These loyal subscribers like the videos, indicating to YouTube that the videos are popular and well-received. This improves their standings in the YouTube search results and suggested video feed.
A solid base of loyal subscribers is your greatest ally as a creator. To grow your subscriber base, make sure you’re giving a nudge to viewers and reminding them to subscribe to your channel.
It’s a common tactic, but it’s so common because it works. For the best results, get creative with how you ask. A little bit of humor goes a long way.
We’ve also seen creators inserting like/subscribe animations into their videos during the best parts — viewers are already enthralled by the video at that particular timestamp, which means they’ll naturally more likely to want to like and subscribe.
A single subscriber can equate to dozens or hundreds of views down the line.
#5 Cross-Promote on Other Platforms
Intelligent YouTube creators cross-promote on other social media platforms. Wherever you have an audience, consider plugging your YouTube channel to give your videos a head start:
- Include links to your YouTube channel in your Facebook, Twitter and Instagram bios (consider using an auto-subscribe link).
- Post short clips from the video on other platforms, then include a link to watch the full video on YouTube
Even if you have only a couple thousand subscribers on other social media platforms, it’s still worth doing cross-promotion. A couple hundred views on your videos can give them the jumpstart they need to gain the favor of the YouTube algorithm and increase their view counts exponentially.
You may also consider repurposing short-form content from other social media channels to post on YouTube via YouTube Shorts. If a viewer enjoys your YouTube Shorts, they may click through to your profile in order to check out your long-form content.
Summary: Get More Views on YouTube in 2021
Getting more views on YouTube isn’t rocket science — as long as you set a proper foundation, you’re well on your way.
- Decide on a niche.
- Find keywords within your niche.
- Create enticing thumbnails and titles.
- Ask for likes and subscribers, and use end cards.
- Cross-promote your videos on other social media profiles and YouTube Shorts.
At the start, while your videos are getting minimal views, the whole process may seem like a grind — but if you can manage to land yourself even one viral video, you may find your channel growing faster than you ever possibly imagined.
As you grow, be sure to check out IZEA’s Influencer Platform to earn the most from every view.
