Building a strong subscriber base is essential for a long-term success on YouTube. How users participate and engage with your content determines how much the YouTube algorithm distributes it further, enabling you to get more YouTube views for free.
Without further ado, here’re 15 ways to get free YouTube subscribers for your channel.
1. Ask Viewers to Subscribe to Your YouTube Channel
When it comes to asking people to subscribe to your channel, you have more options to persuade your viewers. Perhaps the first thing that comes to mind is when the YouTube creator is asking to “like, comment, subscribe” at the end of the video.
However, there are some other ways of asking people to become your subscriber.
- Use visuals that asks people to subscribe
- Create stock footage that you add at the end of every video
To prevent users from dropping off from your channel you may want to use different footage. This will also ensure you stay in favor of the YouTube algorithm.
- Shoot an appropriate Call-to-action for every video
Certainly, there are some creative ways that you can use when asking for liking, commenting, and subscribing. Give users a big reason like “it tells YouTube to show this video to more viewers.” But be warned: it’s inevitable for viewers to drop off the video. So don’t worry. Alternatively, create a short intro (around 5-7 seconds) asking users to subscribe.
2. Invite your EMail Contacts To Join You On YouTube
So you worked hard to grow an authentic email list of people who love what you do? Well done! Use this communication channel to further expand your reach.
Drop your subscribers a link to your most recent YouTube video and invite people to comment on it. Additionally, you may mention the next topic you’re going to discuss in your videos to drive more audience interest, enthusiasm, and participation.
Give people one main reason to subscribe to your YouTube channel. It will boost your trustworthiness and make you seem more convincing. Giving exclusive updates and responding to questions people have in the comments work the same way.
If you don’t have an email list, you may want to start building one now.
3. Increase Watch Time for Your YouTube Video
Watch time is definitely one of the most important factors for how well your videos rank on YouTube. The total amount of minutes viewers have spent watching your videos is considered to be even more important than the total number of views that the video gets.
One way to increase watch time on your YouTube channel is to give the viewer a reason to stick around. Use humor or create intrigue by stating that you will be revealing something important at the end of the video. Whether it’s a tip, strategy, or a giveaway. Make your viewers want to keep watching the video to find out what you are going to reveal.
Another technique is to keep your introduction short. Avoid making your introduction long because this will make your viewers abandon the video. Instead, briefly cover what will be in the video and why they should proceed with it.
Also, make sure you deliver the information your viewers want to know. For example, if you are creating a tutorial video then it must solve people’s problems. State how you are going to help your viewers and set out the steps they need to take to fix their problem.
4. Upload Consistently
There’s no one-size-fits-all solution to getting more views and more free subscribers. In theory, publishing 4 to 5 videos per week might help you increase watch time, lead YouTube to promote your videos more, and get more users to subscribe to your channel.
However, people most value content (and influencers) that can add value to their lives. That said, the thing that is well worth caring about if you want to truly succeed on YouTube is consistency in the quality of your videos. Next comes consistency in your publishing schedule.
If you release videos whenever you feel like it, it confuses people and prevents them from subscribing to your channel. This is a bad habit that can kill your creativity and stifle your success.
Indeed there are countless YouTube channels that are deserted for months (and sometimes years) by creators after they reach subscriber thresholds. When vloggers come back from their furlough and continue creating videos, they fail to get the same level of engagement and viewership that they get.
Keep in mind, things change quickly on YouTube. If you’re away for a long time, the YouTube algorithm will start noticing your absence and substituting the distribution of your videos with others in your subscribers’ feeds.
To prevent yourself from being removed from feeds by uploading content on a schedule sustainable for you. Remember that it’s important to engage viewers and add value to the relationship with great content.
5. Add Cards Where Your Audience Drops Off
If you want your viewers to spend more time exploring your channel, cards can be something you may want to use. In general, creators can use them pretty much like webmasters use internal links for their websites.
Once your video starts getting views go and see your channel-level audience retention report to find moments where the views drop off (i.e. where viewers stop watching your video).
Start adding cards at these timestamps suggesting viewers to watch a related video to the current one. Suggest watching a video with an above-average retention rate to increase the overall amount of time users spend on your channel.
Also, ensure you use an eye-catching and engaging teaser text to persuade people to click on cards.
Once added, monitor cards’ performance every month through YouTube Analytics.
6. Use YouTube Live to Engage Your Audience
If you create learning-related videos, conducting an online class session on a topic that interests your audience is a great way to demonstrate your expertise. You can deliver a huge amount of value in a short period of time — while fostering trust and building a positive relationship with your attendees.
You could even promote your products and services as an add-on at the end of such live sessions. Another great thing is that such streams remain on YouTube as long pieces of content. Later you can repurpose them into multiple shorter and more focused videos.
Take advantage of live streams to increase your revenue potential, get more engaging videos, and new and loyal free subscribers.
But planning and preparation are essential if you want to get a successful virtual event. The key to a compelling virtual event is discovering and solving your audience’s major pain points while demonstrating your authority on a subject. And invite your email list to join these events by sending them a message.
During the live session, interact with your viewers and try to inspire/help them achieve their goals.
To put it another way, you may want to entertain your audience. For example, share personal stories, promote a podcast episode, and tell your subscribers about your upcoming projects.
7. Optimize Videos to Be Relevant to Other Popular Videos
Novices tend to experiment with various topics and styles. It might involve creating product reviews, “Top” lists, comedies, reactions, and the like. When people start publishing videos on YouTube they’re usually trying to find the intersection between the kind of content they enjoy creating and the content types their audience likes watching.
But once you start noticing some videos perform better than the rest, then publish more videos on similar subjects.
For example, you created a video featuring “how to get more free YouTube subscribers” and it performs well. Consider going ahead and create follow-up videos on subjects such as “How to Get Your First 1000 Subscribers on YouTube.”
Begin with sorting and filtering your videos by “Most Viewed” if you want to find your popular videos. However, if finding videos that convert viewers into subscribers is something you’re into, try to find similarities in your videos first. Maybe these were created using a specific kind of editing style? Create more similar videos to see what actually works for you and can help to grow your channel quickly in the initial period.
8. Build A Community Around your Channel
You must know exactly what your YouTube audience wants. After all, you’re going to solve their problems and bring value to their lives. If you want to get more free subscribers solicit feedback to create more videos on subjects your audience likes.
When it comes to building a community around your channel try to be accessible and reply to as many comments as possible in your videos. Keep in mind that in the first 24 hours, every reply increases engagement on your videos and gives them a higher chance of ranking.
Generally, you can use any tools (except for the ones that go against terms and conditions) to encourage feedback and interact with your audience.
Ultimately, nothing beats awesome content where you share personal stories, get users a behind-the-scenes look of your channel, crack niche jokes. Such videos instantly connect with your viewers and get them rooting for you.
9. Add Foreign Language Subtitles to Your Videos
Have you ever tried to reach a non-English-speaking YouTube audience?
Even if most of them speak in English, creating videos in other languages allows you to connect with new audiences and get free YouTube subscribers.
That is the reason why the most-viewed YouTube channels often publish videos in languages other than English. Actually, regional languages are fueling YouTube’s growth in India.
If you’re trying to benefit from narrow targeting — which you should — then creating videos in their regional languages will connect deeper with these folks.
Now let’s see what you can do if you don’t speak a foreign language and you don’t have the budget to hire someone for producing regional content.
The best thing you can do is to add subtitles in other languages to your videos. But make them conversational and include cultural references from the local language. To make things work, avoid auto-generated subtitles and get a professional translator who can make a difference.
10. Create Bingeable Content
Thanks to Netflix binge-watching has become the norm for most users on the internet. People love watching their favorite TV shows so why not take advantage of this viewer habit by creating a series of videos. It lets you increase the session duration of your users, thereby leading to further distribution of your videos and more subscribers on YouTube.
So what is the best way to create such a binging experience?
Try to break your script into a series of videos. Then set up Series playlists for them, recommending users to watch them together.
Alternatively, publish videos on related subjects, including storytelling, jokes, and puns, and using drama to create an engaging experience for users.
Beware though while trying to create such videos. Always keep the balance between “non-harmful engagement” and “problematic involvement.” Your viewers should not feel guilt for spending their time watching your videos.
11. Utilize Other Social Media
A vast majority of social media networks reluctantly allow their users to hop outside of their platforms. Naturally, they want to keep their users so that they can show them more ads and generate revenue.
But since videos let users spend more time on their platform almost all social media platforms like it. That said, you can utilize that love for getting traction back to your YouTube channel.
To start with, add your YouTube videos “natively” on other social media. Try to repurpose your videos for every social media channel where you can get exposure to a completely new audience. Social media networks like Facebook, TikTok and LinkedIn are great to start offering some exclusive content.
12. Collaborate With Other Channels
Want to get more free YouTube subscribers that have not heard of you?
Then, collaborate with popular YouTube content creators. Cross-promotion is a great way to reach a new audience and position yourself as an expert in your industry. But how does it work?
Firstly, find an influencer who doesn’t compete with you. Make sure he/she shares your values and conveys the same marketing message. Besides, keep in mind that the reputation and professionalism of the influencer that decided to cooperate with you are equally important. Promoting them means endorsing them. This indicates that you guarantee the quality of their content, recommend them to your audience, and you are confident that it is a reliable person.
In other words, you offer your audience to check his/her channel out.
Secondly, bear in mind the level of influence. If you’re looking for the right social media communities you must choose those with the same number of subscribers. Else, you need to offer people quality content that resonates.
Before you even start compiling a message, do research on the audience type. Know exactly the interests of the target audience and the topics they like. Their comments section can also lend you a few interesting influencers to collaborate with.
13. Celebrate a Milestone
Never underestimate the power of milestones. While some people think milestones are pointless and superficial, celebrating them and expressing gratitude to your viewers can in fact gain you more free subscribers.
Even when you get your first 1000 subscribers, celebrate it, keep your viewers motivated and generate extra buzz around your YouTube channel. Not only will users appreciate your hard work, but they might subscribe as well.
Else, you can share your success on other social media profiles to earn the attention of entirely new audiences. For example, ask your viewers about their favorite videos from the last year. Or you can create a video where you reflect on the key viral moments of your channel.
14. Add End Screens to Videos
End screens are great when it comes to watching more of your videos, visiting an external website, and subscribing to your channel. Basically, end screen is an overlay that sits on the end of your YouTube video and can include links to other videos, playlists, and include a subscribe button.
If you want to create end screens directly in your YouTube account, below we’ll go over how to add end screen elements to your videos.
Firstly, you need to sign in to your YouTube account. Then select your account icon in the top right corner and find YouTube Studio. Press Content on the left-hand menu.
Then options may vary. Select the video, and click the pencil icon if you want to add an end screen to an existing video. Or select the Create button on the top right of your screen to upload the video file if you want to add an end screen to a new video.
After completing the previous step, select the Video elements tab.
Now you need to add an end screen by importing from an existing video or adding your own.
Fill in the required information by selecting the end screen elements you want to add to your video. Then click Create Element.
15. Get Interviewed
Getting interviewed by other channels and influencers could expand your reach. Whether you interview someone or you get interviewed by other creators it’s a win-win for everyone involved
- The viewer listen to a conversation that is easy to consume and make information personal;
- The interviewer can access new insights and expand their reach;
- The interviewee gets free exposure and gets an opportunity to position themselves as experts in your niche.
Start with creating podcasts and video interviews. Both formats are really popular and you can quickly find a few relevant opportunities where you can pitch yourself as a guest.
The Bottom Line
And there you have it, the 15 best ways to get free YouTube subscribers. As you probably realize your video views, revenue, engagement are dependent on your number of subscribers. So roll up your sleeves and start growing your subscriber count.
While getting your first free YouTube subscribers might take time and effort, with these tips, you can reach the milestone of 1000 subscribers very soon.
And once viewers head to your YouTube channel, they’ll likely click your affiliate links. That’s where having a good way to generate and convert leads comes into play.
If you’re looking for a tool that helps you create referral links on the fly, then ConvertSocial content monetization platform is the way to go.
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