Hey guys, so my friend and I started making videos a few months ago. We have both had trouble growing our channels. Personally I have heard the advice of many famous youtubers (ex. Bdoubleo100, Etho, etc.), and they tend to all say the same thing about growing your channels. They say just make quality videos and post them consistently. I feel like these things are very, very important, but I'm beginning to think there is a lot more to it. My channel has gotten practically no views, likes, or subscribers from doing this. So my question is how do you begin to grow a small youtube channel. Should I post more tutorials? Should I post less LPs? Anyways please give me your feedback!
Also I'm sure my channels content isn't anywhere close to perfect, so if you want, please leave your feedback on some of my videos. My channel is http://www.youtube.c...r/ctrobbins1LP.
Hey guys, so my friend and I started making videos a few months ago. We have both had trouble growing our channels. Personally I have heard the advice of many famous youtubers (ex. Bdoubleo100, Etho, etc.), and they tend to all say the same thing about growing your channels. They say just make quality videos and post them consistently. I feel like these things are very, very important, but I'm beginning to think there is a lot more to it. My channel has gotten practically no views, likes, or subscribers from doing this. So my question is how do you begin to grow a small youtube channel. Should I post more tutorials? Should I post less LPs? Anyways please give me your feedback!
Also I'm sure my channels content isn't anywhere close to perfect, so if you want, please leave your feedback on some of my videos. My channel is http://www.youtube.c...r/ctrobbins1LP.
I didn't watch any videos since I'm tired and it's late where I live, but maybe tomorrow. I like to think I've been fairly successful for my first 4 months on youtube. I have 84 videos(a few a week) and 80 subs about to go into a positive sub:video ratio and I'll give you some advice.
For one if you are going to do minecraft or pokemon games then you have to find something that people are interested in. Maybe try a mod or rom hack which is essentially a modded pokemon game. If you just make a normal let's play that's fine and great even but you aren't going to get as many views off of it.
Tutorials are great for growing channels it seems to me at least. My most viewed videos are tutorials. I recommend doing something that no one is doing and that is very easy. I do bee and tree breeding for FTB, but it can be almost anything. Don't think there is nothing easy that no one has done because you can make a tutorial out of anything, like how to milk a cow in minecraft for example or make a cookie or anything.
Also I've noticed that the first few videos of a series don't get as many views as ones later down the line. The more you post videos of a certain game the more likely that someone will notice your series and start watching.
I also recommending not asking people to sub to you or like your videos because as a small channel people think it's spammy. Again I didn't watch any of your videos but people do it all the time and I just don't think it helps. Also don't expect these things because they will come with time. I noticed that when I hit 15 subs I started snowballing and hit like 30 subs in 2 weeks. Since then I've averaged a sub a day so it just takes time to hit that point where people start watching and going "yeah yeah... I think I like that." and then you are golden and you grow on a daily basis.
My channel isn't really "popular" by any means, but I'll tell you what I know. Right now I only have 100 subs, about 20,000 views and 30 videos or so, so I've really only just begun, but so far the main thing has been doing stuff that other people aren't doing. If you just start making a random MC Let's Play, chances are you won't get many views or subscribers. It's been done thousands of times before, so unless you have an amazing commentary personality, you probably won't get anywhere doing that.
I still make random Let's Plays because I enjoy doing it, but it isn't a good way to gain subscribers.
My most popular videos are my computer unboxing and my 3 room tour/gaming setup videos. I do them about every 6 months or so, and they get a few hundred views. My first one from about a year ago has around 1200, second one from about 6 months ago has about 800, and newest one from a few days ago has 73, but it is going much faster than my MC LP is. Maybe try doing something like those. They seem to attract more attention for whatever reason.
Finally, you should get proper thumbnails and a good animated intro for your videos. They make the viewer think you know what you're doing, and first impressions are key. Most people decide if they will stay and watch the video within the first 30 seconds or so, so if the beginning is slow you'll lose a lot of people right there.
Continuing on, because I thought about this a bit more while I was brushing my teeth, my real life friend MrAlerteyes is a perfect example of just having a likable personality and posting consistently.
Here is the latest episode of his vanilla let's play:
As you can see he doesn't rely on any sort of gimmicks. Other than the thumbnail, there is nothing really "special" about it, but he has quite a few loyal viewers. He still only has 168 subs and 21,000 views, but I think it is still a good example.
I'm not trying to advertise for him or anything, I just think it is relevant to your question about consistently posting and whatnot.
I didn't watch any videos since I'm tired and it's late where I live, but maybe tomorrow. I like to think I've been fairly successful for my first 4 months on youtube. I have 84 videos(a few a week) and 80 subs about to go into a positive sub:video ratio and I'll give you some advice.
For one if you are going to do minecraft or pokemon games then you have to find something that people are interested in. Maybe try a mod or rom hack which is essentially a modded pokemon game. If you just make a normal let's play that's fine and great even but you aren't going to get as many views off of it.
Tutorials are great for growing channels it seems to me at least. My most viewed videos are tutorials. I recommend doing something that no one is doing and that is very easy. I do bee and tree breeding for FTB, but it can be almost anything. Don't think there is nothing easy that no one has done because you can make a tutorial out of anything, like how to milk a cow in minecraft for example or make a cookie or anything.
Also I've noticed that the first few videos of a series don't get as many views as ones later down the line. The more you post videos of a certain game the more likely that someone will notice your series and start watching.
I also recommending not asking people to sub to you or like your videos because as a small channel people think it's spammy. Again I didn't watch any of your videos but people do it all the time and I just don't think it helps. Also don't expect these things because they will come with time. I noticed that when I hit 15 subs I started snowballing and hit like 30 subs in 2 weeks. Since then I've averaged a sub a day so it just takes time to hit that point where people start watching and going "yeah yeah... I think I like that." and then you are golden and you grow on a daily basis.
Good luck man
-TheXseption
PS: Quote me if you reply so I see it.
Thanks for your feedback, I really appreciate it. Based on what you said and the views, I have decided to post a new tutorial every week. I think it is a good idea, and a way to get people to watch my videos because they might actually search for a tutorial. Also I like the idea of playing mods for both pokemon and and minecraft. I'm might look into playing FTB, but I'm not sure my computer can handle it. Do you have any other suggestions for mods people might be interested in?
My channel isn't really "popular" by any means, but I'll tell you what I know. Right now I only have 100 subs, about 20,000 views and 30 videos or so, so I've really only just begun, but so far the main thing has been doing stuff that other people aren't doing. If you just start making a random MC Let's Play, chances are you won't get many views or subscribers. It's been done thousands of times before, so unless you have an amazing commentary personality, you probably won't get anywhere doing that.
I still make random Let's Plays because I enjoy doing it, but it isn't a good way to gain subscribers.
My most popular videos are my computer unboxing and my 3 room tour/gaming setup videos. I do them about every 6 months or so, and they get a few hundred views. My first one from about a year ago has around 1200, second one from about 6 months ago has about 800, and newest one from a few days ago has 73, but it is going much faster than my MC LP is. Maybe try doing something like those. They seem to attract more attention for whatever reason.
Finally, you should get proper thumbnails and a good animated intro for your videos. They make the viewer think you know what you're doing, and first impressions are key. Most people decide if they will stay and watch the video within the first 30 seconds or so, so if the beginning is slow you'll lose a lot of people right there.
Hope this helps,
-SupaLawlCat
I really like the idea of getting an animated intro and getting proper thumbnails. Is there some sort of program that I should download so I can make thumbnails? I don't really know much about stuff like this.
Im not big either but From what Ive seen best way to get a channel going is getting a video to go at least SEMI-VIRAL.. Such as a Tut of how to do something if its in MC or not.... A new mod or map etc... Something thats trending on a site like this one or like reddit or tumblr..
Ive tryed music lyric videos for a some spreading..... never try that... Unless you got Proper permissions from copyright lords <_>.
I really like the idea of getting an animated intro and getting proper thumbnails. Is there some sort of program that I should download so I can make thumbnails? I don't really know much about stuff like this.
I made my thumbnails (and MrAlerteye's, for that matter.) in Photoshop CS6, and I did my intro in Sony Vegas. My intro is very simple because I personally do not like long introductions.
Hey guys, so my friend and I started making videos a few months ago. We have both had trouble growing our channels. Personally I have heard the advice of many famous youtubers (ex. Bdoubleo100, Etho, etc.), and they tend to all say the same thing about growing your channels. They say just make quality videos and post them consistently. I feel like these things are very, very important, but I'm beginning to think there is a lot more to it. My channel has gotten practically no views, likes, or subscribers from doing this. So my question is how do you begin to grow a small youtube channel. Should I post more tutorials? Should I post less LPs? Anyways please give me your feedback!
Also I'm sure my channels content isn't anywhere close to perfect, so if you want, please leave your feedback on some of my videos. My channel is http://www.youtube.c...r/ctrobbins1LP.
Dude, my channel is very small too! I actually have 0 subs, and the only views I get are from my friends. I going to start making tutorials because people like to watch that and maybe i'll do a Herobrine video? If that helps i'll tell you!
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There's a lot of ways to grow... though really, growth is something you can only very slightly impact.
There's only 2 parts of growth that you can change directly:
Getting your name out there (put it in your signature, mention it in conversation, promote it on your facebook/twitter/etc., participate in collaborations, etc.) - for people to subscribe, they have to know you exist, youtube changes its suggestions based on trends, and you can't "trend" unless you get views to begin with.
My most successful method of getting my name out there, was to help promote others to create content in the same vein as mine - and help them promote their content via my resources.
- AND -
How you present yourself - do you spam? do you contribute? do you beg? do you encourage subscribers to be active? do you interact with your audience? do you stay distant? do you post weekly? daily? twice daily? do you swear? a lot? a little? never?
Simply put, you have to remember, no matter how open you are on your youtube channel, you will be a 2-dimensional figure - you will be your persona that people see... Viewers see TotalBiscuit, not John Bane, they see Guude Boulderfist, not Jason, etc. etc. - and this personality will not be 100% representative of who you are, no matter how honest you are in it. It'll be very jarring for a viewer to hear you swear, if you don't swear in your videos... even if you do it a lot irl.
If you spammed to get your intiial subs, or begged, your audience will reflect it (likely with less views)
If you interact with your subs, they will interact more back - if you're more distant, they will interact towards you and the video (more direct comments/less questions)
If you post too much, people may unsub to reduce spam, if you post too few, people will forget why they sub'd to you. (varies on your content)
There's also the whole "what kind of content" you get - most LPs, reviews, and commentary vids are "single serve" unless they're walkthrough - meaning people will often watch it once, and only rarely share unless it's an 'awesome moment' they want to share. Where as other types of content are 'reusable content' - music videos are a GREAT example of this - very rarely do people watch it just once, and they share it a lot.
Depending on your content, whether the different content fits is up to your channel design.
-------
though in the end - your primary source of growth, ESPECIALLY early on, when youtube doesn't really care that you exist (youtube doesn't really care that you exist until you hit 10-30k subs, at least, and pull regular high views) - is going to be viewers sharing your content with others, it's also going to be your primary source of views.
This is very likely going to be part of my "How-to" series, because even at 500-550 subs in about a year... I get asked it a lot because people seem to see me as a bigger channel than I am lol.
There's a lot of ways to grow... though really, growth is something you can only very slightly impact.
There's only 2 parts of growth that you can change directly:
Getting your name out there (put it in your signature, mention it in conversation, promote it on your facebook/twitter/etc., participate in collaborations, etc.) - for people to subscribe, they have to know you exist, youtube changes its suggestions based on trends, and you can't "trend" unless you get views to begin with.
My most successful method of getting my name out there, was to help promote others to create content in the same vein as mine - and help them promote their content via my resources.
- AND -
How you present yourself - do you spam? do you contribute? do you beg? do you encourage subscribers to be active? do you interact with your audience? do you stay distant? do you post weekly? daily? twice daily? do you swear? a lot? a little? never?
Simply put, you have to remember, no matter how open you are on your youtube channel, you will be a 2-dimensional figure - you will be your persona that people see... Viewers see TotalBiscuit, not John Bane, they see Guude Boulderfist, not Jason, etc. etc. - and this personality will not be 100% representative of who you are, no matter how honest you are in it. It'll be very jarring for a viewer to hear you swear, if you don't swear in your videos... even if you do it a lot irl.
If you spammed to get your intiial subs, or begged, your audience will reflect it (likely with less views)
If you interact with your subs, they will interact more back - if you're more distant, they will interact towards you and the video (more direct comments/less questions)
If you post too much, people may unsub to reduce spam, if you post too few, people will forget why they sub'd to you. (varies on your content)
There's also the whole "what kind of content" you get - most LPs, reviews, and commentary vids are "single serve" unless they're walkthrough - meaning people will often watch it once, and only rarely share unless it's an 'awesome moment' they want to share. Where as other types of content are 'reusable content' - music videos are a GREAT example of this - very rarely do people watch it just once, and they share it a lot.
Depending on your content, whether the different content fits is up to your channel design.
-------
though in the end - your primary source of growth, ESPECIALLY early on, when youtube doesn't really care that you exist (youtube doesn't really care that you exist until you hit 10-30k subs, at least, and pull regular high views) - is going to be viewers sharing your content with others, it's also going to be your primary source of views.
This is very likely going to be part of my "How-to" series, because even at 500-550 subs in about a year... I get asked it a lot because people seem to see me as a bigger channel than I am lol.
Thanks for your feedback, I really appreciate it. Based on what you said and the views, I have decided to post a new tutorial every week. I think it is a good idea, and a way to get people to watch my videos because they might actually search for a tutorial. Also I like the idea of playing mods for both pokemon and and minecraft. I'm might look into playing FTB, but I'm not sure my computer can handle it. Do you have any other suggestions for mods people might be interested in?
FTB is an assortment of mods. So you could just play with one of those mods or a couple if you think your computer can't handle all of FTB. As for pokemon game mods I'd suggest Pokémon Prism or Pokémon Brown, they are both fan made games. Prism is the sequel to Brown. They should be easy to find and set up, plus since they were made off of Pokémon Roms(ROMS are the type of memory in the old game cartriges up to Pokémon fire red I think) so they don't take much to run even on a slow computer. There is also a mod called pixelmon for minecraft which combines minecraft and pokemon into an open world game. Good Luck!
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Also I'm sure my channels content isn't anywhere close to perfect, so if you want, please leave your feedback on some of my videos. My channel is http://www.youtube.c...r/ctrobbins1LP.
I didn't watch any videos since I'm tired and it's late where I live, but maybe tomorrow. I like to think I've been fairly successful for my first 4 months on youtube. I have 84 videos(a few a week) and 80 subs about to go into a positive sub:video ratio and I'll give you some advice.
For one if you are going to do minecraft or pokemon games then you have to find something that people are interested in. Maybe try a mod or rom hack which is essentially a modded pokemon game. If you just make a normal let's play that's fine and great even but you aren't going to get as many views off of it.
Tutorials are great for growing channels it seems to me at least. My most viewed videos are tutorials. I recommend doing something that no one is doing and that is very easy. I do bee and tree breeding for FTB, but it can be almost anything. Don't think there is nothing easy that no one has done because you can make a tutorial out of anything, like how to milk a cow in minecraft for example or make a cookie or anything.
Also I've noticed that the first few videos of a series don't get as many views as ones later down the line. The more you post videos of a certain game the more likely that someone will notice your series and start watching.
I also recommending not asking people to sub to you or like your videos because as a small channel people think it's spammy. Again I didn't watch any of your videos but people do it all the time and I just don't think it helps. Also don't expect these things because they will come with time. I noticed that when I hit 15 subs I started snowballing and hit like 30 subs in 2 weeks. Since then I've averaged a sub a day so it just takes time to hit that point where people start watching and going "yeah yeah... I think I like that." and then you are golden and you grow on a daily basis.
Good luck man
-TheXseption
PS: Quote me if you reply so I see it.
I still make random Let's Plays because I enjoy doing it, but it isn't a good way to gain subscribers.
My most popular videos are my computer unboxing and my 3 room tour/gaming setup videos. I do them about every 6 months or so, and they get a few hundred views. My first one from about a year ago has around 1200, second one from about 6 months ago has about 800, and newest one from a few days ago has 73, but it is going much faster than my MC LP is. Maybe try doing something like those. They seem to attract more attention for whatever reason.
Finally, you should get proper thumbnails and a good animated intro for your videos. They make the viewer think you know what you're doing, and first impressions are key. Most people decide if they will stay and watch the video within the first 30 seconds or so, so if the beginning is slow you'll lose a lot of people right there.
Hope this helps,
-SupaLawlCat
Here is the latest episode of his vanilla let's play:
As you can see he doesn't rely on any sort of gimmicks. Other than the thumbnail, there is nothing really "special" about it, but he has quite a few loyal viewers. He still only has 168 subs and 21,000 views, but I think it is still a good example.
I'm not trying to advertise for him or anything, I just think it is relevant to your question about consistently posting and whatnot.
Ive tryed music lyric videos for a some spreading..... never try that... Unless you got Proper permissions from copyright lords <_>.
Anywas good luck Ill need some as well.
I made my thumbnails (and MrAlerteye's, for that matter.) in Photoshop CS6, and I did my intro in Sony Vegas. My intro is very simple because I personally do not like long introductions.
Dude, my channel is very small too! I actually have 0 subs, and the only views I get are from my friends. I going to start making tutorials because people like to watch that and maybe i'll do a Herobrine video? If that helps i'll tell you!
This is my channel: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGEJktLxJogm8TF6mjkUJXQ
There's only 2 parts of growth that you can change directly:
My most successful method of getting my name out there, was to help promote others to create content in the same vein as mine - and help them promote their content via my resources.
- AND -
Simply put, you have to remember, no matter how open you are on your youtube channel, you will be a 2-dimensional figure - you will be your persona that people see... Viewers see TotalBiscuit, not John Bane, they see Guude Boulderfist, not Jason, etc. etc. - and this personality will not be 100% representative of who you are, no matter how honest you are in it. It'll be very jarring for a viewer to hear you swear, if you don't swear in your videos... even if you do it a lot irl.
If you spammed to get your intiial subs, or begged, your audience will reflect it (likely with less views)
If you interact with your subs, they will interact more back - if you're more distant, they will interact towards you and the video (more direct comments/less questions)
If you post too much, people may unsub to reduce spam, if you post too few, people will forget why they sub'd to you. (varies on your content)
There's also the whole "what kind of content" you get - most LPs, reviews, and commentary vids are "single serve" unless they're walkthrough - meaning people will often watch it once, and only rarely share unless it's an 'awesome moment' they want to share. Where as other types of content are 'reusable content' - music videos are a GREAT example of this - very rarely do people watch it just once, and they share it a lot.
Depending on your content, whether the different content fits is up to your channel design.
-------
though in the end - your primary source of growth, ESPECIALLY early on, when youtube doesn't really care that you exist (youtube doesn't really care that you exist until you hit 10-30k subs, at least, and pull regular high views) - is going to be viewers sharing your content with others, it's also going to be your primary source of views.
This is very likely going to be part of my "How-to" series, because even at 500-550 subs in about a year... I get asked it a lot because people seem to see me as a bigger channel than I am lol.
All good advice. Thank you.
FTB is an assortment of mods. So you could just play with one of those mods or a couple if you think your computer can't handle all of FTB. As for pokemon game mods I'd suggest Pokémon Prism or Pokémon Brown, they are both fan made games. Prism is the sequel to Brown. They should be easy to find and set up, plus since they were made off of Pokémon Roms(ROMS are the type of memory in the old game cartriges up to Pokémon fire red I think) so they don't take much to run even on a slow computer. There is also a mod called pixelmon for minecraft which combines minecraft and pokemon into an open world game. Good Luck!