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Are you wondering how others do it?
If you want the massive views, exposure and targeted traffic that YouTube offers, you need to focus on first building an audience—or as YouTube calls them, subscribers.
Why YouTube Subscribers?
A YouTube subscriber is someone who has chosen to “follow” your channel and your content so they can stay updated with your latest videos. In essence, a subscriber can become a raving fan who watches, comments and shares your videos with others. Building up a strong subscriber base is essential for creating a powerful community online.
The following article will reveal six simple—yet highly effective—methods for getting more subscribers to your channel and your existing videos.
However, before you follow these simple action steps, you’ll need to make sure you’re already following these three principles for YouTube marketing success in your business:
- Be consistent: The “one-and-done” approach does not work on YouTube. If you want the views and the traffic, you need to be posting and updating your content consistently for best results. Upload new videos and share with your list and sphere of influence as frequently as possible.
- Provide value: If your video fails to provide any real value to the end user, don’t be surprised when it doesn’t get any real views. Each video needs to deliver your best content, your best-kept secrets and your most effective strategies. How can you raise the bar and provide more value in your videos?
- Be remarkable: Today, it’s not enough to be posting weekly videos with your tips and content. Using your creative “right-brain marketing approach,” you need to convey your content in an engaging and entertaining format that separates you from the rest. In short, your videos need to be remarkable. The biggest sin in marketing is to be boring. How can your videos be the opposite of boring?
If you put the above principles into practice in all of your marketing efforts (not just YouTube), seeing results with these six subscriber-getting strategies will be easy!
#1: Ask for Subscribers
The simplest way to begin increasing your subscriber count is to start asking for it in your videos. Never assume that your viewer can read your mind. In your videos, give your audience a compelling call to action and ask them to click the “Subscribe” button right above your video.
Here’s a simple three-part formula for creating a compelling call to action in your video that makes subscribing to your channel a complete “no-brainer!”
- Tell them what to do.
- Tell them how to do it.
- Tell them why to do it.
For example: “To stay up to date with my latest videos and cool marketing tips, make sure to subscribe to this YouTube channel by clicking the button above this video.”
#2: Use Annotations
Annotations are the little colorful sticky notes that people paste all over their videos once they’ve been uploaded to YouTube. Although this tool is often overused, a few strategically placed annotations can make a world of difference for your YouTube marketing efforts.
In the case of increasing your subscribers, there are two effective uses for annotations that I recommend:
- Call-to-action annotation: Add a “speech bubble“ annotation directly under the Subscribe button to all of your old and existing videos.
Notice how this speech bubble is aligned just below the Subscribe button. - Click-to-action annotation: When you mention your call to action, add an image, graphic or “button“ to the video and overlay it with a “Spotlight“ annotation that links directly to your channel subscribe page. In short, your viewers can now subscribe by clicking an annotation inside your video.
Add this Subscribe button in your videos.
#3: Add a YouTube Widget and More to Your Blog
If you already have a web property that is getting traffic, this is a great opportunity to leverage those visitors and get them to become subscribers to your channel. And they can do it with the click of a button.
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Once you start embedding your YouTube videos on your blog, there are two really easy ways to get more subscribers:
- YouTube Subscription Widget: By installing the YouTube Subscription Widget to the sidebar of your blog or website, you can make it even easier for others to find your videos and subscribe to future content.
Ask your blog readers to subscribe to your YouTube channel. Installing the widget is as simple as copying and pasting the iframe code below into your website’s HTML code:
<iframe id=”fr” src=”http://www.YouTube.com/subscribe_widget?p=addYouTube Username here” style=”overflow: hidden; height: 105px; width: 300px; border: 0;” scrolling=”no” frameBorder=”0″></iframe>
Note: Make sure to adjust the link above to include your YouTube channel name (username).
For specific instructions on using and installing the YouTube Subscriber Widget, visit YouTube’s Official Blog.
- Call-to-action graphic: Recently, YouTube added a few features that allow users to interact more with videos, even when the videos are embedded on other web properties such as your blog. To take advantage of this update, add a small graphic above your embedded videos that tells people exactly what to do when watching!
Be sure to add this new feature when you embed YouTube videos on your website. Not only can viewers like and share your videos even when they’re embedded on your blog, they can also subscribe to your channel by pushing the “more info” button.
Note the More Info button where viewers can subscribe to your YouTube channel.
#4: Leverage Featured Channels
Another simple method for increasing your reach and scooping up more subscribers is to strategically partner with other YouTube content-creators.
Directly on your YouTube channel page is an option to add other “Featured Channels” of those “YouTubers” you like and recommend. When you get other channels that have a similar audience to feature you, you can expect to see new viewers coming your way very quickly!
How exactly do you get others to feature you on their channels? Simple. Ask! (But it also helps to reciprocate.)
#5: Consistently Interact
When you start to understand that YouTube is a community, not just a place to host your videos, you will begin to see far more results when you interact with the other members of this community.
One of the best ways to build a following of subscribers is to support others in their YouTube marketing efforts. Comment, like and subscribe as frequently as possible to other content-creators on YouTube, and wait for the reciprocation.
Take a few minutes a day to find some new and relevant YouTube channels, pay attention to their content and leave real, genuine comments. It’s a simple concept, really: the more you give, the more you get!
#6: Create a Payoff
Lastly, my favorite strategy for attracting new subscribers starts by creating a “payoff.” There is something magical about posting your goals to the public.
You want to lose a few stubborn pounds? Post it on Facebook! Do you fancy that special someone? Shout it from a rooftop! But what if you want more YouTube subscribers?
Here’s a simple step-by-step process of the “subscriber payoff method” in action:
- Identify your current subscriber count (e.g., 450 subscribers)
- Identify your subscriber goal (e.g., 500 subscribers)
- Pick something fun, unique or different that you will do once you reach 500 subscribers (e.g., a free giveaway, shave your head, do a crazy dance on video, etc.)
- Share your goal (and your payoff) with the world!
When you share your goals with the world, people will jump on board to support you and help you accomplish your goals. This is a great way to spread your reach with little effort and have a fun time doing it.
Back to You
What do you think? How are you getting subscribers to your YouTube channel? Please share your questions and comments in the box below.
