How To Grow Your YouTube Channel In 2020 |10 WAYS TO GROW YOUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL

 For some, earning money on YouTube seems like a far fetched dream.

But it can definitely become a reality for you in 2020.

As long as you have what Dan Currier calls, the marathon mindset.

Today, l will share with you from his own experiences, how you can effectively grow your YouTube channel and what pitfalls to watch out for along the way. Watch to learn more here:

Cultivating The Marathon Mindset For YouTube Success

Dan firmly believes that succeeding with YouTube monetization comes down to having 90% mindset. According to Dan, there are three pillars making up this mindset:

1) Persistence

Once you get started, you want to continue creating content. Don’t get distracted or think that you’re not making any progress and decide to give up before results start to show.

2) Consistency

Be consistent in the way you approach your content creation and how frequently you share it. You also want to show up as consistent in your branding and in the overall message that you’re sharing.

3) Patience

Often people idolize the results they see other people achieve, without realizing the work, effort and time it takes to get there. In the case of YouTube content creators, it’s tempting to get impatient seeing everyone else seemingly grow their audience and monetize their channel.

Rather than playing the comparison game by obsessing over metrics such as subscribers and views, Dan recommends that YouTube creators focus on getting 100 videos out on the platform.

The bottom line? You need to view your YouTube strategy not as a destination, but as a process that’s constantly improving.

Focus Is Key

Focus forms an essential part of the marathon mindset.

What this looks like is niching down your topic and audience.

In other words, you need to understand what you’re going to make your content about, who you’re going to make it for, and stay as focused as possible on that topic.

This is often quite difficult in practice. To help stay focused, Dan suggests deciding what you’re going to do with your content, and then writing down into 1-2 sentences.

Think of this as your mission statement. 

A common mistake Dan sees YouTube creators make is subscribing to what Dan calls the ‘something for everyone’ mentality. This is where people try to cater to a wide audience by creating as many different types of content as possible.

This only leads to becoming a master of none, and shooting yourself in the foot when it comes to growing our YouTube channel.

How to Approach Content Creation

With a laser focus on what content you’ll create, it’s time to dive into some strategies for creation and promotion.

Dan’s first suggestion is to have a consistent schedule.

As part of this, you’ll need to decide what’s realistic for you in ensuring you can stick to the schedule for the long term. You don’t want to let your ambitions get the better of you, and end up burning yourself out trying to pump out a ton of content that saps away your soul. Remember, it’s about the long-term, not the short-term (i.e. the marathon mindset).

The second thing is to plan your content in advance before you even click record.

Instead of just ‘winging it’ by picking up a camera and shooting whatever comes to mind, it’s important to focus on understanding exactly what your audience needs or wants, and deliver that to them.

Focus on solving problems and answering common questions – once you have a good idea of how to do those, you can start shooting your videos and teaching online.

And in due time, you’ll not only grow your audience. You’ll also establish yourself and your personal brand as an authority in your space.

For more tips and strategies in growing your channel and cultivating the 90% mindset, watch Dan’s video!

Optimizing Your Content For Search

Another method for generating and planning topic ideas for your content is keyword research.

Keyword research is where you get an understanding of what people are actually searching for in terms of the types of questions they have, and the problems they’re trying to solve.

By identifying these, you can then frame your video content to answer their questions and solve their problems (hint: this also helps you with refining your online courses!).

As a result, you’re guaranteed to be adding value to your audience, which helps with all aspects of being noticed and rewarded by YouTube’s algorithm.

In Dan’s video, he runs through a screen share demonstration of how exactly you can research keyword phrases that will help you rank higher on searches. He also shows you exactly how you can identify which phrases are being searched the most, and which plugins he recommends.

Watch the video above to learn how you can target the best keyword phrases for your YouTube videos!

Present Yourself With Authority

As Dan says, it’s one thing to get a video in front of somebody that delivers value to them. But it’s another thing altogether to actually draw that person into your channel, get them to subscribe, click that bell and watch future content.

So far, you’ve learned strategies on how to ensure you deliver value in your videos. This section is about making sure you’re presenting yourself as an authority in your space.

Beyond the basics in physically looking presentable on camera (e.g. clothes, makeup, lighting etc.), Dan recommends four authority building strategies:

1) Cohesive Branding

The first is to be consistent in the way you brand your entire channel.

This starts by nsuring all you channel art (e.g. your channel icon, thumbnails, etc.) are all consistent and look similar.

Your goal is for a viewer to be able to instantly recognize your videos by your unique channel art.

2) Convey Your Value

This is the second layer of your cohesive branding.

Make sure that you clearly present who you are, what you do and why your audience should care as part of your channel art and overall branding.

The good news is, if you’ve followed the steps from the sections above and really nailed down who you’re making content for, this should come easy.

3) Informative Over Flashy

One point to make about your brand is to understand that your channel art will develop and evolve over time.

Instead of making the common mistake of spending time and money on creating something that’s flashy, you want to focus on being informative and get the message across of who you serve and what you do for them.

4) Repetition Builds Awareness

This point builds on point #1 about cohesive branding.

By creating thumbnails that are consistent in text, color, and style, you can build awareness of your channel, even if viewers don’t click.

People frequently need to see something multiple times before it really clicks with them. The more videos you have that feature thumbnails representing your brand consistently, the more awareness they’ll have of you.

This awareness can go a long way in helping you grow your brand and audience on YouTube.

Dan shares more tips thumbnail design and development in his video – watch to learn more!

Be An Active Contributor

Above all, the most fundamental thing to keep in mind is to be an active contributor.

You want to be known as the person who goes out of their way to help everyone else.

The more you are out in the community delivering your value without ever asking for anything in return, the more people will search you out, find your content and subscribe to your channel.

Have the marathon mindset and you’ll find yourself growing your audience, increasing your views and earning money on YouTube by selling online courses in no time.

10 WAYS TO GROW YOUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL

There’s no denying it; video marketing has been on the rise over the past few years, growing ever more popular and accessible for brands. And while popular sites such as SnapChat, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and even your own website are great places to invest, YouTube remains the giant in the space, with individuals spending a billion hours each day watching videos on this platform.

Often referred to as the world’s “second largest search engine,” YouTube can help your content be found quickly and engaged with thoroughly - if you know a few tricks. Here are 10 effective ways you can grow your YouTube channel.

1. Build Videos Around a Single Keyword/Topic

It may seem obvious, but building your video around a single topic/keyword is the best way to get the traffic you want and grow your audience. Many people who are unaware of SEO best practices skip this step, but it’s crucial if you want your videos to get the maximum amount of viewers. Try using a keyword tool like KeywordTool.io, which is specific to YouTube, to look for the most searched keywords in the niche you’re looking to target.

It’s important to pick your keyword before you even build your video content because it helps you construct the best information around that specific topic. It also helps you remember to include your keyword naturally throughout the content so YouTube picks it up when closed captions are added. Once you’ve chosen your keyword, check out the videos that are currently ranking for that topic to make sure you’re on the right track in terms of intent, and don’t forget to optimize your title and descriptions. Despite popular myths, the most successful videos on YouTube are typically less than 5 minutes long, so don’t feel you have to make a film or write a novel. Keep it short and sweet.

2. Reformat Existing Quality Content

Of course, the easiest way to grow your channel is to build great content. But that content doesn’t always have to be built from scratch. Some of your best videos can be built from engaging, valuable, useful and actionable content you’ve already created. Many people go to YouTube to find answers and how-to tutorials for the issues they’re facing, so content that solves problems is a great fit. Look at the blogs, guides, and other high-performing pieces you currently have and think about how to make them into cool videos.

3. Engage with Your Audience

It's important not to overlook the fact that YouTube is a social media channel, and therefore demands social interaction. If you’re just posting videos without encouraging comments and discussion, you’re missing a trick. YouTube rewards channels with great engagement, including overall time spent on channel, watch time, likes and dislikes, and most importantly, comments. Try to respond to every comment you receive (if possible!) and ask users to engage with audio/visual prompts.

4. Get Branded

So your content is great. But is your channel itself visually appealing? If you want visitors to take your YouTube channel seriously and subscribe to your channel, you need to look professional. Branding your channel will also help users immediately recognize your content. If you have a blog or website, you probably already have some sort of look and feel you use to differentiate yourself from other individuals and/or companies, so it only makes sense to carry over that branding to your YouTube channel as well. Here’s an example from fashion brand ModCloth.

5. Promote Your YouTube Videos on Other Social Channels

One of the beautiful things about social media is that you can cross-promote content on different channels. Promoting your YouTube videos on your other social channels is the easiest way to grow your audience. What channels are you on? Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram, Pinterest? There are many from which to choose. And if there’s a channel (such as Facebook) on which you want to post videos directly, you can always do a teaser for the full-length video on YouTube so that you have optimum engagement on all channels. Don’t forget about your blog; you can post your videos there as well!

6. Show Up

If you’re running YouTube by yourself or as part of a small organization, it can be extremely beneficial to put your own face on screen. When you put a face to a brand, your audience can more easily connect with you as an individual. This is especially important for

7. Post Great Thumbnails

They may seem like a small thing (because they are), but thumbnails can have a big impact. YouTube advertises other videos via thumbnail in its sidebar, so you want yours to stand out among the pack. The same goes for YouTube search. Videos with a catchy title and appealing thumbnail usually rank higher, even if the content itself isn’t as valuable, because they have a higher click-through-rate (CTR). To get your CTR where it needs to be, try using tactics such as highlighted areas, arrows, large text, and unexpected or unusual images. See the example below from Neil Patel. bloggers; fitness, life, or business coaches; and solopreneurs. Every video you make doesn’t need to include your face, but you should reach out personally to your audience every few videos or so. Additionally, if you are this type of YouTuber, use a photo of yourself on your channel (not your logo). 

8. Leverage YouTube Cards

We’ve already discussed the fact that YouTube rewards channels that keep viewers on their pages longer. These longer average watch times mean people are truly engaged with your content. (You can see how long people are staying on your videos by using YouTube analytics). By adding YouTube cards, you can add additional recommended videos at the exact point where users are currently dropping off. Though they may abandon that video, users will be taken to your other content and stay on your channel, increasing your channel’s ranking.

9. Push for Subscriptions

One of the ways you know for sure that viewers are engaged with your channel is when they “subscribe’ to see any new videos that are posted. Ask viewers to subscribe to your channel in each video that you upload, and keep engaged with your existing subscribed users. (You can see your list of subscribers, here). Never pay for subscribers. This will only bring down your engagement and hurt the authenticity of your account in the long run. Remember, if you don’t ask your viewers to subscribe, you may be missing out on a lot of potential followers.

10. Increase Your Uploading Frequency

This tip may sound intimidating at first, but to grow your audience, you need to increase your posting frequency to at least one video a week. Don’t worry; you don’t need a design firm or fancy advertising budget to get this done. Today’s smartphones offer excellent video recording ability, and tools such as Animoto make editing videos easy for anyone. Consistency is of the utmost importance. Try to post at the same time each day or week (depending on your frequency), and keep your subscribers updated about when new videos will arrive. Then stick to your schedule.

Remember, driving engagement with quality content is what develops engaged followers and subsequently. advocators of your brand! Be true to yourself and your brand, and communicate with your audience along the way.