JERRY HIETANIEMI’S THE SECRET TO GETTING 1 MILLION SUBSCRIBERS IN 3 DAYS SOCIALMEDIACALENDAR.CO Contents About the Author........................................................................ 4 Introduction................................................................................... 5 PART 1 Why Choose YouTube?.......................................................... 7 Benefits of YouTube................................................................ 11 PART 2 Universal Laws of YouTube............................................. 21 How the YouTube Algorithm Woks........................... 34 How to Get One Million Subscribers...................... 41 PART 3 Phase 1: First 100 Followers........................................... 44 Find Your Channel Niche................................................................... 45 Create & Optimize Your Channel.................................................. 48 Create Your First Video...................................................................... 51 Upload Your Video................................................................................. 54 Phase 2: First 1,000 Followers...................................... 60 Develop Your Strategy....................................................................... 61 Optimize Your Videos............................................................................ 67 Engage with Your fans........................................................................ 72 Phase 3: First 10,000 Followers................................... 76 Cross-Promote Your Channel...................................................... 77 Utilize Analytics Data.......................................................................... 78 Monetize your Account...................................................................... 80 Run a YouTube Ad Campagin............................................................ 82 Phase 4: First 100,000 Followers............................... 90 Verify Your Account............................................................................. 91 Host YouTube Contests....................................................................... 92 Go Live on YouTube................................................................................. 94 Patner with Other Channels......................................................... 95 Phase 5: First 1,000,000 Followers........................... 99 Promote & Sell Merch......................................................................... 100 Published Sponsored Videos.......................................................... 103 Connect with Sponsors..................................................................... 104 Affiliate Marketing................................................................................ 106 Invest in Professional Equipment.............................................. 108 PART 4 Key Take-Aways.............................................................................. 113 Closing Remarks & Thanks..................................................... 115 ABOUT THE AUTHOR Jerry Hietaniemi is a digital marketing strategist and creative visionary. As one of the top names in paid advertising, he provides tailored, winning solutions for his clients while focusing on the growth of his own business, Social Media Calendar. Jerry helps his clients leverage the power of social media and personal branding into profit growth techniques and strategies. Jerry’s biggest strength is selling design: he has the ability to shape things into understandable, easy to market, and productive entities. His passion for marketing flourished as an entrepreneur at the age of 20 in the fitness industry. The rapid success in the fitness niche attracted the interest of major Finnish fitness brands, and Jerry took point on consulting companies on digital marketing and sales strategies. The secret to success lies in action, continuous improvement, the ability to change, and be one step ahead. Solutions must always exceed the customer’s expectations, and the best results are achieved in cooperation with the client. 4 | one million followers INTRO Launched in 2005, YouTube is a video-driven social media platform responsible for approximately 11% of all global video traffic. It currently boasts more than 1 billion users worldwide. It is a simple video sharing platform that allows users to host their own channels and produce their own content. The emergence of YouTube was one of the most significant digital revolutions witnessed by our society in the last decade; A golden era of creating, sharing, and learning. Today, the site witnesses 300 hours of new content every minute. YouTube has become a common platform for one and all, whether you’re a content creator, stand-up comedian, fashion icon, or a business owner; the opportunities are limitless. The online video library is now the world’s 3rd most visited site, with an unimaginable global reach. While there has been ongoing controversy regarding its content, its influence on the current and upcoming generations is undebatable. Over the years, the site has become a symbol of democracy and acculturation. Almost anyone can upload anything and share their ideas across continents within just minutes. YouTube has allowed the common man to reach millions within the comfort of their homes. 5 | one million followers There are stories of many, many businesses that have emerged solely through YouTube and its incredible reach. It has changed our world, especially our world of opportunities. Using social media and the online community to expand your personal brand has become a growing trend, with ample reasons, of course. There are a plethora of brands that exemplify the utilization of YouTube for building a successful business. Our research shows that there is a strong correlation between a successful business and a robust consumer-brand relationship. YouTube creates and bolsters a bidirectional bond between companies and their consumers. A few years ago, establishing a culturally diverse community of consumers would have been almost impossible. Still, with the rise of platforms such as YouTube, it’s not only possible but immensely effective. The dominance of YouTube, amongst other social media platforms, offers young and old brands an opportunity to establish, rework, and market their ideas through interactive strategies. 6 | one million subscribers WHY CHOOSE YOUTUBE? Remember when YouTube first gained traction in the social media world? Many remember YouTube back in its prime. It might not be at its peak anymore. There are still creators out there who still upload prank videos, videos of themselves talking to the camera, and funny animations. Everyone believes YouTube was at its peak back when marketers didn’t grab hold of the fact that the platform would be great for marketing and growing a brand. No, it was merely a place where people uploaded videos that were so interesting they couldn’t help but share it with the world. Who doesn’t remember older YouTube personalities from decades ago who ended up either retiring early or becoming television or movie stars in their own right? Of course, once people realized YouTube was an untapped market, the whole industry changed. Instead of being a place where we could upload videos hoping they would go viral, we started branding. We started to upload videos for the sole purpose of ad revenue and trying to get discovered. We weren’t trying to make people laugh anymore. We were driven by money. On the surface, it sounds horrible. Why even go to YouTube anymore if everyone who uploads videos is only doing it for fame and fortune? The time where YouTube was a genuine place to upload videos is gone. It’s an entirely different platform where brands and marketers go to get those free YouTube views. Do you know why? They do it because the views are there. 8 | one million followers It doesn’t matter that YouTube isn’t in it’s “prime” any more. It doesn’t matter that YouTube “isn’t what it used to be.” YouTube is the standard. It’s so ingrained in society that when people need a video for anything from fixing a dishwasher to figuring out whether we should watch a new movie. But where are we watching these videos? Sure, we could watch them from some random Joe who uploaded a poorly edited video with terrible audio, trying to hold a phone camera in his mouth as he records himself fixing a drain pipe. But who wants to sit there and watch that when you can have the companies themselves making videos for you that help them drive traffic to their website, company, or brand? That’s called branching out and being an authority. 9 | one million followers LET THE NUMBERS TALK More than one billion unique users visit YouTube each month, totaling 17% of all internet traffic. 100 hours of video content are uploaded every minute, with more content uploaded in 60 days than all 3 major US networks generated in the last 60 years. YouTube Receives one billion daily views from mobile devices and 25% of views globally. 6 billion hours of video are watched each month and are accessed from hundreds of millions of devices. 56 countries post video content in 61 unique languages 10 | one million subscribers BENEFITS OF YOUTUBE FOR PROMOTING YOUR BRAND MARKETING ON YOUTUBE HELPS BUILD TRUST People will go to someone they trust as an authority on the subject. That’s how basic psychology works. If you create this aura that you’re the expert on the given topic, product, service, or whatever, people will come to you. What if they’re in the market for a product or service you offer. They’re going to go to you to make sure they’re making the right decision before succumbing to buyer’s remorse because they believe you know what you’re talking about. That’s hard to do if you just make a little Facebook post with some emojis telling them you know what you’re talking about. Some people may take Facebook posts at face value, but it’s not easy to build credibility that way. YOUTUBE IS THE SOCIAL MEDIA AUTHORITY If you want a place that gets viewers, you can’t do any better than a platform with billions of video views a day. There are billions of people around the world. That means almost everyone is watching YouTube videos. Imagine the kind of traffic you’ll get if you can tap into the market. If you think about it, YouTube itself is an authority. When people want to find something, one of the first places they think about is YouTube. Whenever people link videos, it usually’s YouTube videos. Facebook doesn’t make it very intuitive to share videos on its platform and can make branding less than fun. 12 | o n e m i l l i o n fs o u lb lso cw r iebresr s Hey guys, I just uploaded this Facebook video. You should take a look. Here’s the link: Facebook.com/m irandacunningham/videos/0983049832094/ No one’s going to click that link. No one’s even going to attempt to type that in. Facebook doesn’t have a very intuitive way of searching for anything. Unless you’re looking for something particular, it’s not going to show up on a search engine. Plus, once you get to the point where you can pay for advertisements, YouTube does an excellent job ensuring they show ads wherever they can. Place unskippable ads in the sidebar and at the beginning, middle, and end of a video. At some point, people will click the advertisement if they recognize who you are or what your brand is. That’s something you most likely won’t get to until further down the line, but it’s something to think about. GET YOUR AUDIENCE TO WORK FOR YOU Word of mouth will always be the best marketing strategy out there. We can sit many marketing experts in a row to develop the world’s best marketing strategy, but nothing beats word of mouth at the end of the day. YouTube has made word of mouth as easy as sharing content across platforms like Twitter or Facebook. 13 | one million followers It’s a little harder to convert YouTube videos into Instagram. At least, if someone posts a YouTube link to another social media platform, they get some eyes who may not spend as much time on YouTube YouTube knows their videos are shared millions of times on the internet a day. People see something they like, something funny, or are trying to prove a point, they’ll link back to a YouTube channel. Again, this is why being the authority on your service or brand is essential. YouTube may be significant, but anyone can upload a video and spout nonsense. People want to know they can link back to your video and prove to whoever they’re talking to that you’re the end-all of information on the topic. INCREDIBLE REACH YouTube gives you a reach like no other advertising platform can. It is the second-largest search engine in the world. We don’t need to see statistics to understand YouTube’s fanbase; just think about the number of times you have been on it in the past week. Since YouTube hosts such a diverse community, you’re guaranteed to find customers over time as long as your content is entertaining, educating, or helping users find solutions to their problems. YouTube is owned by the world’s most popular search engine, Google. When consumers use Google to search, they are also presented with YouTube videos related to their search. This will help your business get noticed within your niche and increase your reach towards your target audience. 14 | one million subscribers YOUR VIDEOS DO NOT EXPIRE Here’s the cool part about YouTube: your content is never lost. Imagine if you were tweeting one day. Twitter’s algorithm makes it difficult for tweets to show up on someone’s timeline unless there’s some extensive interaction. It’s always a good idea to hire a social media manager for full-time interaction, but that costs money. If you’re just starting out, that’s not easy to pull off. While there are thousands of videos uploading every day, they’re not lost in a stream of food pictures, political posts, or retweets. You might post a tweet with your video, and it will get lost forever. That doesn’t happen on YouTube. With YouTube, your content will always be organized on one convenient channel where you can make different playlists and categories for people to look through (instead of trying to doom scroll through Twitter in-between a sea of nonsense to find your content). 15 | one million subscribers YouTube makes it easy to go viral by being one of the best platforms to generate a high traffic volume. More people watch YouTube than network television. Nobody wants to pay the hefty prices of network television. Nobody wants to go to some obscure blog to watch a video uploaded directly into WordPress. They like familiarity, which you can provide while getting a massive return on investment if you develop a strong enough YouTube strategy. Make sure your YouTube strategy includes SEO, keyword research, title research, tags, and everything you need to build quality backlinks. This will not only increase your rankings but increase your reputation and authority too. YouTube does it all. You just have to make sure you utilize it to its full potential when developing your marketing strategy. IT’S FREE! Small businesses need to realize the value of a platform like YouTube and take advantage of their free services. Humans are naturally more inclined to watch an interactive video than read a lengthy article. Use this opportunity to market your product, solution, or idea as creatively as possible. Unlike traditional media, YouTube does not cost you money. Instead, the time and hard work you put in determines the rate of your success. For small startups, this is an excellent opportunity to build connections and get recognized globally at no cost at all. 16 | one million subscribers INCREASE WEBSITE TRAFFIC YouTube processes over 3 billion searches in a month. This shows how powerful the platform is; it allows you to introduce your views and expand your audience. And what do these vast numbers mean to us? As more and more people search for something, the higher the probability of it leading to you. We know how increasing website traffic is vital in driving people to your page, turning them into leads, and eventually, into future customers. Providing backlinks in your YouTube videos’ description makes it easier for people to find you on the internet and your websites. Backlinks can also be overlaid on your YouTube videos at specific user-selected moments. This will give your audience a brief moment to hop on to your website, where they will get a holistic view of your brand/company. MARKETING ON YOUTUBE Google Search blends listings from news, video, images, and more and returns the most relevant information found on the internet using key-words given by the user in the search query. But what’s impressive is these text-based searches show a handful of videos that are part of the overall result. Now, as an entrepreneur, you can take advantage of this feature by using high-quality articles on your website and linking them with your YouTube videos. Doing so will help build backlinks to your site, allowing your brand to be found by a broader audience. The more relevant you seem in Google’s eyes, the higher your pages will be ranked in the search results. 17 | one million subscribers YOUTUBE ADS Today, YouTube is filled with advertisements varying from solo streamers to big businesses, trying to build their own YouTube community. But recently, there’s been an abundant flow of advertisements from small-time companies and startups trying to spread their message. It might seem a little bizarre at first, seeing them invest so much on ads when usually people just skip them. However, those who don’t end up on the suggested weblink may end up subscribing to your channel after. And to help reduce the dent in your wallet: Google AdWords for video is a great option. You analyze your audience and pick videos that they are most likely to watch. This way, you only pay for engaged views. An engaged view occurs when a viewer watches at least 30 seconds of your advertisement. In other words, if the ad was skipped, then you don’t pay anything at all. 50% 44% 40% 30.4% 30% 20% 0.0% Growth from 2019 Account for total video ad spending eMarketer forecastes that social video ad spending in the United States would reach $14.89 billion in 2021, growing 44% from 2019, and will account for 30.4% of total video ad spending. 18 | one million subscribers Let’s look at Rokenbok Toy company (now known as Kid Spark Education). Founded in 1995, the toy company showcased its products in specialty toy stores but at the time had dramatically collapsed. So, looking for a different way to showcase their products, they took to YouTube Ads, where they turned ads into short stories. Through those stories, they showcased their products and how they worked. This helped them generate 50% of its customers from YouTube, showing how a little bit of creativity on this colossal platform can play a crucial role in expanding your brand. Caitlin Bigelow, director of marketing at Rokenbok, directs and scripts the company’s YouTube videos.(Peggy Peattie / San Diego Union-Tribune) 19 | one million subscribers MAKING MONEY ON YOUTUBE We’ve seen how advertisements can help us, and these ads can be run on different channels. The advertising profit doesn’t just serve YouTube, but a portion goes to the video’s creator hosting the ad. Through Google’s AdSense for Video Programme, regular content creators hold the privilege to earn money by hosting advertisements onto their channel. Over one million people across 30 countries make money this way, where thousands of channels make six figures yearly. Ave Engagement Rate Est. Daily Earnings Est. Monthly Earnings Est. Yearly Earnings $36.75 - $61.25 $1,103 - $1,837 $13,414 - $22,356 YouTube has grown from a niche fledgling service to an ad behemoth. The services YouTube provides to its viewers, businesses, and individuals are irreplaceable. YouTube is a massive platform for growing your audience, your reachability, and establishing your brand. YouTube’s ad sense provides you with an opportunity to make money from videos demonstrating your brand image while simultaneously publishing ads across relevant content. YouTube’s content restrictions ensure that your ads would not be placed with content that your business does not condone. When you use the key features of YouTube mentioned effectively, you’ll be able to take your personal brand or business to new heights. 20 | one million subscribers UNIVERSAL LAWS THAT YOU SHOULD ALWAYS OBEY WITH YOUTUBE IF YOU WANT TO SUCCEED You’re sitting with your phone and a bowl of cereal scrolling through different YouTube videos of makeup artists, video bloggers, and do-it-yourselfers. After the hundredth low-quality video with thousands of views and hundreds of likes and comments, you’re telling yourself that you can do better. In fact, you can do better right now. You create your channel and start recording yourself eating your cereal. “Hey guys,” you tell an audience of no one. “So today, I’m eating my cereal,” then smile before telling people to subscribe. Other people upload videos of themselves eating every day. What’s stopping you from making it big being an attractive person eating food? Doesn’t everyone want to see that? You upload the video, put your phone down, and finish eating your cereal. After putting your cereal away, you eagerly open the YouTube app to see two views and one unlike. You ask yourself what you did wrong. You’re relatively attractive, and you have a YouTube channel now. How come you’re not on the straight path to becoming the next Jenna Marbles? Well, like everything in life, there are some universal laws you have to follow first. 22 | one million subscribers LAW 1 CREATE A CLICKABLE TITLE Think about every title you’ve ever seen, from videos to blog posts. What made you click them? Thumbnails (covered later) help, but titles should be intriguing and make people want to click your video. Don’t upload a video of yourself eating cereal and call it “hey guys” in all lower-case words. Who is going to click that? Not to mention YouTube automatically chooses a thumbnail for you if you don’t create one yourself. That means YouTube chooses an unsavory thumbnail where you’re mid-sentence, and one eye is closed while the other is not. Imagine that thumbnail under a title that just says, “Hey guys.” There’s a whole other set of rules when it comes to researching a compelling title for your video but let’s stick with the basics for now (we’ll cover keywords later). You need to be as descriptive as possible. Don’t just put the word “WOW!” in the title. It might be an eye-catching attention word, but no one’s going to click a video that just says, “WOW!” You need to have something else in the title to tell the audience what you’re excited about. What are you saying “WOW!” to? Is the cereal really that good? If you’re excited about the cereal, then you need to tell people. Don’t tell people why in the title. Try something like, “WOW! Is this the most amazing cereal ever?” People will look at that and wonder what is making the cereal so good that someone can claim it’s the best cereal ever. 23 | one million followers Examples of Effective YouTube Titles: “Well-written titles can be the difference between someone watching and sharing your video, or scrolling right past it…” -YouTube The following YouTube video titles follow the best practices for achieving a high click-through rate, including: using keywords, adding quantification, contrarian info, or emotional words (like “WOW!”), mixing lower and uppercase, and keeping the title under 60 characters. • • • • • • 24 | How to Make the Best Cheesecake without an oven? 5 Simple Ways to Write a Blog! 7 Extreme Makeup Do’s and Don’ts! The secret of creating your own website designs Want abs like Jason Mamoa? Follow these easy steps! Top 10 Fitness Mistakes you need to AVOID! one million followers LAW 2 CREATE EYE-CATCHING THUMBNAILS Go to any YouTube channel with a large following. What’s the first thing you notice? Go ahead, search for a big YouTube channel, and click on their videos. Nine times out of ten, they’re going to have consistent branding in their thumbnail. It’s recognizable to their brand, their thumbnails aren’t all over the place, and it helps people recognize them. Usually, they have the same font, a picture of themselves, and something else in the thumbnail that gives potential watchers an idea of what will be in the video. Let’s use the cereal as an example: Imagine if you were scrolling through YouTube, and you saw a video titled “WOW!” with a thumbnail that had the word “WOW!” over a bowl of cereal? Chances are, you’re not going to click that, right? 25 | one million followers In our poorly designed thumbnail, there’s nothing to indicate any sort of branding. Unless, of course, someone’s brand is putting pictures of cereal in the background with poorly formatted lettering on top of it. There’s no one in the thumbnail. There’s nothing eye-catching about it, but hey, at least it’s better than having no thumbnail at all. Some people put too much trust in YouTube’s ability to pull a thumbnail from the video. It rarely ends well. Let’s take a look at a better-looking YouTube thumbnail for your cereal. Now, if your YouTube channel is about judging different foods, then this would be an example to follow. You would have yourself somewhere in the video, the title in a consistent font you use across all your thumbnails, and the video’s topic somewhere in the picture. This is a thumbnail someone would click. 26 | one million subscribers You don’t need to put your brand in the video’s thumbnail because YouTube is different. Your brand is something that viewers can instantly attribute to you. They don’t have to look at the name of the YouTuber. They should just look at your video in the sidebar and say, “oh, this is that YouTuber who talks about cereal. Cool! They have a new video out.” Speaking of consistency, if you want to keep people around, you need to treat it like a job. The Daily Bumps vlog [5.08M Subs] does an excellent job of creating thumbnails by pairing them with the titles and using colorful and actionable imagery. 27 | one million subscribers LAW 3 CONSISTENCY IS KEY Imagine if you were hired to work full-time as a cashier. You need to be consistent, show up on time, and put the work in. If not, they’re going to let you go and move on to someone else. That’s similar to how brutal the YouTube industry is. If you don’t upload consistently or stick to a schedule, your viewers will move on to someone who will. It’s not a case of, “I miss this YouTuber, I am eagerly awaiting them to upload a video again someday.” Keeping viewers in the dark isn’t going to work on an internet full of people with short attention spans. However, that doesn’t mean upload content every day. You’re going to burn yourself out and burn your audience out. There is such a thing as too much. Have an upload schedule of once every three days, once a week, once every two weeks, or once a month. If your viewers know exactly when a new video is coming out, then they can hype themselves up on the wait. They’ll talk about it with their friends. People don’t like to be kept waiting as much as they love knowing when something will happen. Think about a movie or a video game, for example. If a director for a film or video game said, “Hey, my movie is coming someday,” people are going to be happy. They’ll talk about it with their friends, they’ll be hype over it, and then the sinking realization comes in when they realize they don’t know when that “someday” is. 28 | one million followers Eventually, they’re going to forget about it until there’s an actual date set. Think of all the movies lined up for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Yes, everyone’s excited for the movie coming out, but they’re thrown deep into our subconscious until we come across a trailer with a hard release date, and we’re like, “Oh yeah.” If you know you’re not going to upload on time for some reason, you need to tell your fans what brings us to our next point: engagement. 29 | one million subscribers LAW 4 ENGAGE WITH YOUR FANS There’s a reason why YouTube integrates so well across different social media platforms and has its own comment section: engagement matters. Why do people comment on YouTube, reply to tweets, or post on Facebook posts? They want to engage with you. Of course, you’re going to get some internet trolls. Still, it’s always best to ignore the haters because they go bother someone else eventually. However, if your fans feel like they’re being ignored, they’re going to move on to someone who acknowledges their existence. After a certain point, it’s not realistic to respond to everyone. People will understand that. People want content. You can briefly acknowledge them in the end and let them know you’re reading what they’re saying but don’t put all of your energy into responding to every single person. It’s just not realistic. However, you should try your best to respond to different social media platforms when you have the chance. People love engagement. That engagement makes it personal for them and will keep them coming back. 30 | one million subscribers LAW 5 LISTEN TO YOUR SUBSCRIBERS There’s nothing anyone loves more on YouTube than seeing their ideas implemented. They love to feel as if they’re a part of something. At the end of your video, ask them what cereal you should eat next. Put out a poll on Twitter, make a graphic on Facebook that shows different cereals and have them vote in the comments, or have them reply in the video’s comments itself. Take Epic Rap Battles Of History, for example. They’ll tell you to decide which duo to do for their next video at the end of their videos. If you look at any of their videos, you’ll see endless comments of people coming up with ideas. 31 | one million subscribers Imagine the feeling of knowing you helped influence something? Now imagine how your fans will feel if they know they helped influence one of your videos. “Hey guys, welcome to another cereal video. I’d like to thank TooHype4Sugar and DaBossKing for their input on the last video. They both suggested this cereal to me, and, honestly, it’s amazing. Let me tell you why...” Imagine how TooHype4Sugar and DaBossKing are going to feel when they find out they were heard. They were involved in you making the video, and that means they were listened to. Their input was valued, and they’re going to share that accomplishment with their friends. Of course, they’re going to have to find you first, which means you’ll have to follow this next relatively dull law of YouTube. 32 | one million subscribers LAW 6 MAKE USE OF KEYWORDS Keywords are essential, and you’re going to have to do a little research into how YouTube search-engine optimization (otherwise known as SEO) works. Basically, your video’s keywords are where you’ll be ranked when people search for “cereal videos.” Not only do you have to keep keywords in mind, but you’ll have to micromanage all the metadata from the description to the tags. It’s not something you should put too much focus on in the beginning. It’s trial-and-error for most people. Many just start uploading to YouTube without worrying about the metadata at first. However, suppose you’re trying to go for a competitive niche like beauty, food, or video games. In that case, you’ll have to sit down and work on your metadata, so your YouTube video ranks well in the search results. Using Google Trends is one of the best ways to see if something is trending. You can also look for free keyword research tools through Google. 33 | one million subscribers HOW THE YOUTUBE ALGORITHM WORKS (AND HOW TO MAKE IT WORK FOR YOU) Over 70% of the time on Youtube, you will watch a video based on what its algorithm recommends- straight from the mouth of YouTube’s Chief Product Officer. It’s estimated that YouTube will make about 5.5 billion in ad revenue in 2020. Needless to say, video dominates the online media industry- dare say more than photos. It seems like everyone is willing to throw a few dollars at Google (YouTube’s parent) to get one more view or click. It seems like every budding online influencer has their own YouTube channel. Those who don’t already have a massive following aspire to break the numbers, skyrocketing their subscriber count into the millions. So, how does one stand out among all the other YouTubers out there? How does one get their lovingly crafted video to appear on the first page of YouTube search results? 35 | one million subscribers YouTube doesn’t just magically pick which videos appear first and which ones get shown in the recommended section. It uses a carefully-designed algorithm (similar to Instagram) to keep the platform organized. The YouTube algorithm works in favor of strategically-placed sentences, adjectives, and descriptors that help its search engine feel at ease. Understanding how the algorithm works (technically speaking) is the first step to boosting your video view count and hitting those subscriber goals. YouTube works in mysterious ways, but the more you use the platform, the more you will unravel its secrets. Improving your organic reach, boosting views, and getting more likes or subscribers is possible as long as you keep in mind how the AI works. Play smart, be nice to the AI overlord and start thinking strategically about your channel. 81% of American YouTube users say they regularly watch videos recommended by the algorithm 36 | one million subscribers THE GOAL OF YOUTUBE’S ALGORITHM Before we dive into how the algorithm works, let’s talk about what the goal is of the AI in the first place. While some people might say the purpose of the AI is to make more money for YouTube (ad revenue), there are two primary goals the algorithm serves: (1) assist video-watchers in finding content they love (2) increase viewer engagement After all, the algorithm hits hardest for recommended videosthose videos that pop up, encouraging you to watch more relevant content and spend more time on the platform. Recommendations are usually found in a few strategic places: notifications, channel subscriptions, YouTube home page, search results, trending videos, and in the list of videos that populate the sidebar while watching a video on desktop. HOW THE ALGORITHM WORKS Have you ever wondered how your favorite YouTube celebrities achieved their fame? How does a YouTube video go viral? It’s thanks to an AI algorithm, and here’s a quick breakdown of how it works in 2020. Most algorithm info before 2016 should be disregarded in terms of how it functions since it is continually being updated. 37 | one million subscribers Similar to most AI systems, YouTube’s algorithm almost takes on a life of its own. It is made up of a complex, sophisticated, intricate set of code that was created by a team of engineers. Sounds fancy, right? Well, YouTube actually cleared up some of the mystery around their hush-hush system in 2016 when they published an official paper called Deep Neural Networks for YouTube Recommendations. However, most of how the algorithm truly functions remains a secret, and since the AI is constantly changing, it is safe to say that a lot of information in that document may be outdated by now in 2020. In 2019, YouTube made a public change to its system when it announced more robust content filtering. You may have heard some of your favorite YouTubers talk about this in fear of getting their videos removed. The AI will track which videos you watch, how long you watch them, and other factors to determine your level of satisfaction. The goal is to make you as satisfied as possible so you will keep watching videos. Once the AI determines how satisfied you are, it will tailor a set of video recommendations to keep you satisfied. 38 | one million subscribers Next are the neural networks in place. One of them is meant to score videos based on (publicly) unknown factors, how often a channel uploads videos, and how new it is. The other neural network is used to filter out videos that are not a good match for your recommendations and insert videos that the AI believes you will find interesting. The search results on YouTube are a curious thing. How is it that the same term searched by two people yields completely different results? Suppose Sally searched for “how to make a collage,” and Bob searched the same term. In that case, they’d see the same type of content but arranged differently with different videos popping up first. We still don’t know the inner workings of YouTube’s AI, but here’s what we are sure of so far when it comes to search results. • • Metadata is crucial (title, description, keywords, etc.) for ranking in search results. The more your metadata match search terms, the better. A video’s engagement level (comments, avg. watch time, likes) influences its placement in search results. From Niel Patel, “compared to videos owned by traditional celebrities, videos created by the top 25 YouTube starts earned: 39 | one million subscribers A video that appears in search is based on those two factorsalong with several more we simply don’t know about. YouTube likes to keep secrets, we hear, YouTube’s algorithm works based on these factors as well. How much each factor is weighted is up to the AI system at the time. These influencing factors also vary based on each YouTube user: • • • • • • • How often a YouTube creator uploads videos Negative likes or comments on videos Video engagement (likes, comments, views, shares) If a video has gone viral and how fast it happened How long a user spends on YouTube & on a specific channel What content you rarely watch & what content you watch often If a user watched a video in full or if they stop watching early How to Make the Algorithm Work for You So, now that you know how YouTube works, it’s time to make it work in your favor. It is definitely possible to rank well in search and is recommended by working with (not against) the AI. If you want to rank high, get more views, and blast your subscriber count out of the water, you must pay close attention to how YouTube works; design your channel according to the factors it looks for. That means consistently uploading videos, being active, and a few other tips we will get into below. Follow these tips and suggestions, and you’ll improve your organic reach on YouTube in no time. 40 | one million subscribers HOW TO GET ONE MILLION SUBSCRIBERS IN 30 DAYS PHASE 1 Account Set-Up and Fruition | How to Get the First 100 Followers | Properly setting up your YouTube channel is a keystone of the whole process. Creating a proper account from the get-go can make or break your efforts. We’ll cover how to find your niche, optimizing your channel, and creating your very first video. PHASE 2 Grow Your YouTube Channel | How to Get the First 1,000 Followers | Now that you’ve begun to upload videos and build an audience, it’s time to grow your engagement and subscription rates. In phase 2, you’ll learn what metrics are the most important to keep track of, how to stand out from the competition, and optimize your channel for success. PHASE 3 Monetize & Advertise Your Channel | How to Get the First 10,000 Followers | Growing your channel takes more than uploading videos. This phase will walk you through how to run the best advertising campaigns to drive more views and earn money from your marketing efforts through YouTube’s monetization program. 42 | one million subscribers PHASE 4 Create Different Types of Content | How to Get the First 100,000 Followers | Once you’ve hit this peak, you’re eligible for the coveted verification badge and can commit more time to other types of content production like live streams, partnerships, contests, and more! PHASE 5 Multiply Your Earnings | How to Get the First 1,000,000 Followers | Take your YouTube earnings to a whole new level and learn how to utilize other methods of making money and making the most of your fan base. We’ll also walk you through a list of great filming equipment and software to take your channel to a new level. 43 | one million subscribers PHASE 1 ACCOUNT SET-UP AND FRUITION HOW TO GET THE FIRST 100 FOLLOWERS FIND YOUR CHANNEL NICHE Your niche is you, the human. You need to be as broad as possible but fully you, which becomes your niche. Your niche can be the collection of things you are interested in blended into your unique perspective. - Gary Vaynerchuck YouTube gets 300 hours of new content posted to its platform every minute. That fact alone can be intimidating when it comes to thinking of a way to stand out amongst the competition. However, out of the over 1.3 billion people who use YouTube, there is a specific audience for you. Currently, the top ten most popular YouTube Niches are: • • • • Makeup Gaming Food Tech Review • • • • Travel Fashion Sports Animals • • • Photography Movies Fitness Thomas Smale, CEO of FE International, explains, “you want to do your due diligence in selecting a viable niche business [or brand], but it’s better to get up and running than to wait around. That way, you can test out ideas, enter the market sooner, and learn from your successes and failures.” When deciding on your overall niche, it’s vital to zero in on what you’re passionate about and what drives you to keep going. Don’t know what you’re passionate about? Utilize the steps on the next page to find out how. 45 | one million subscribers Step 1: The first, yet not the most obvious step, is breaking down any barriers that keep you from taking action, like fears of being judged, ridiculed, or unsuccessful. One major culprit behind this mindset is comparing yourself to others online. STOP DOING THIS. Even the most renowned experts in their field have people that are better at what they do than they are. Other common blockers, and how you can counteract them, include: Don’t Do This • Set expectations for yourself you wouldn’t have for others Do This Instead • Do what you love without aiming for perfection • Suffer from ‘Imposter • Acknowledge that everyone • Constantly overthink things • Take 5-10 minutes per day to • Count Your Failures • Count your achievements, no Syndrome and second-guess yourself feels this from time to time practice mindfulness matter how big or small Step 2: Your niche should be a product of your passion. Get yourself a pen and paper and jot down skills that have helped you thrive in school, work, and life, and note what you do in your free time for fun. Also, ask yourself what types of things people ask you for advice on or what problems you’re asked to solve. Step 3: Narrow down your list of passions by exploring help forums (Quora, Reddit) related to your niche to see which of your passions can help solve common problems your potential audience might have. 46 | o n e m i l l i o n fs o u lb lso cw r iebresr s Step 4: Utilize Google Trends and the Google Keyword Planner to look for keywords related to your niche that are trending in popularity online. If you don’t have a Google Ads account, you’ll need to create one to use the Keyword Planner tool as well as create YouTube ads, which we’ll cover in Phase 3. You can also gauge the search results to see if your niche populates too many results or not enough. The latter can indicate that there may not be an audience for your niche, while the former means the platform may be oversaturated with that particular topic. Find a happy medium of between 250K and 10M results, or at least a Medium search volume. 47 | one million subscribers Step 5: Looks for signs of successful niche through competition research. Some competition means your niche may be a profitable venture, while too much competition means you’ll have to work harder to differentiate yourself. You can create opportunities for yourself against competitors who produce low-quality content, aren’t 100% authentic or transparent, or create content that lacks paid advertising efforts. CREATE & OPTIMIZE YOUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL Step 1: Create Your Google Account. Because YouTube is owned by Google, you’ll first need to create a Google Account. • • • • • Visit Google.com and click the ‘Sign in’ button in the top righthand corner Click on the ‘Create account’ link On the popup, be sure to choose the ‘To manage my business’ option since you’ll be running ads to promote your channel Fill in the required fields, and agree to Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service Once you’ve verified your account, you’re ready to create your YouTube channel! Step 2: Create your YouTube Channel. You’ll need to create a Brand Account to manage certain editing permissions. • • Visit YouTube.com and click the account icon in the right-hand corner (or sign in if you aren’t already) Click ‘My channel’ in the drop-down menu 48 | one million subscribers • • Instead of entering your name and creating a channel, click on ‘use business or other name’ link Once you’re prompted to create a brand account, type in an account name and click the ‘Create’ button Step 3: Create Your Channel Theme. Developing a theme around your YouTube channel is essential for standing out among the thousands of other video-makers. Create your own unique vibe for your channel. Pick a color scheme, anesthetic, or some creative element and infuse it into everything you can. Your channel banner image, logo, video thumbnails, video intro, and video outro should be cohesive and represent your brand. 49 | one million subscribers • • Click on the ‘Customize Channel’ Button Upload a channel icon and banner by clicking on the default profile picture square and the ‘Add channel art button’, respectively. Your channel icon should be at least 800 x 800 px. Consider using a logo or professional headshot. On the other hand, your channel art should scale across a desktop or be at least 2560 x 1440 px. AdEspresso recommends you “choose something that represents your business while being visually dynamic.” You can use free online software like Canva or Snappa to create professional-looking and branded images. • • • Under the ‘About’ tab, write a compelling channel description to give people an understanding of what your channel is about and what viewers will stand to gain from watching your videos. Utilize the template below to create the ideal description: Include additional details like email and location, although this is optional. Add channel links to send subscribers to other social media accounts 50 | one million subscribers CREATE YOUR FIRST VIDEO! The best thing to do as a creator – don’t overthink your videos, the run time should match the content – Cristos Goodrow, Vice President of Engineering, YT Step 1: Decide What Type of Video You’d Like to Create. Your YouTube channel is raring to go and ready for your first video upload! Before you start shooting, however, you need to decide what kind of video you’d like to create to help you achieve your goal of getting more subscribers. According to an article by the Huffington Post, “companies that are seeing the greatest success with video marketing ranked the importance and effectiveness of different types of videos in the following order, starting with the most effective:” 1. Customer testimonials 5. Reviews/case studies 2. On-demand product demo videos 6. Live/on-demand webinars 3. Explainer and tutorial videos 7. Video blogs 4. Thought leader interviews 8. Event videos Step 2: Structure Your Content. Your video structure should be optimized for engagement. It only takes seconds for a viewer to decide whether or not they’re interested in your video, so it’s vital to hook them in right away. Utilize the chart below to determine how much time you should spend on certain aspects of your video. 1 min INTRO 51 | 2-3 min TITLE FRAMING THE HOOK PROBLEM 4-5 min 2 min OFFER SOLUTIONS CTA one million subscribers Step 3: Write Your Video Script. Think of this step as more of creating a storyboard or a layout of what your video will look like. Include rough sketches of different scenes and pair them with bits of descriptive text. Include factors like location changes, the weather or time of day, camera direction and details, and the lines for each scene. You can also account for multimedia elements like slides or graphics. Step 4: Determine How Long Your Video Should Be. Keep in mind that if your account has not yet been “verified,” you will be limited to 15-minute videos. (From YouTube, you can submit a request for a channel verification once you have 100,000 subscribers.) That being said, unless you’re uploading a music video (with an average 3-minute length), there really is no winning video length that’s set in stone. YouTube’s Cristos Goodrow explains, “If it takes two minutes to communicate what you want to say, make a twominute video. If it takes 20 minutes, make it 20 minutes. If viewers really enjoy watching it [YouTube’s] Search and Discovery systems should do their jobs surfacing it to others.” We’ve collected some video stats that you can utilize to help base your decisions off of. • • • On average, YouTube videos on the first page of the search results are around 15 minutes long A study done by Banklinko revealed that “longer videos tend to significantly outrank short videos” Overall, your video length should correlate with how engaging the content is 52 | one million f su ob l ls o cw r iebresr s Step 5: Shoot Your Video. Don’t feel pressured into purchased fancy equipment so early in the game (unless you really want to). The quality of smartphone cameras makes it super feasible to capture excellent footage without all the fuss of fancier equipment for software. However, here are a few tips to keep in mind to make the most out of your footage. • • • • • • Always film in landscape mode Use a tripod to avoid shakiness in static shots If your smartphone allows, set your camera mode to manual to fine-tune your settings. Shoot more footage than you need. Depending on what type of video you’re shooting, it may not be possible to reshoot the same video. However, it’s always easier to cut out extra footage. Experience with different angles and distances. For example, interview videos should take advantage of 45-degree angles. Use natural lighting when you can, or invest in a ring light. Capture audio on a separate recording device. If you can’t have anything on hand, you can purchase high-quality mics that plug right into your phone! 53 | o n e m i l l i o n sf u ob l ls o cw r iebresr s UPLOAD YOUR VIDEO Step 1: Create a YouTube Playlist. Playlists are a great way to organize videos into specific subsections. This is especially handy when your video library starts growing, and you start branching your niche off into subsections. Brian Dean of Backlinko recommends creating what he calls ‘Power Playlists,’ or playlists organized by outcomes instead of categories. You can create playlists from your channel homepage by clicking on the ‘Playlists’ tab, clicking on the blue ‘Customize Channel’ button, and finally tapping the ‘New Playlist’ button. 54 | one million subscribers Step 2: Create a Video Thumbnail. The human eye is naturally drawn to pleasing visuals. If all of your video thumbnails (preview photo, video image, the pic displayed on your still video) match, it makes your channel look clean, consistent, and well-organized. YouTube’s algorithm LOVES those things and will boost your channel as a result. Matching video thumbnails just look aesthetic and presentable, too- besides their SEO benefits. We recommend choosing a color scheme that falls outside the branding style of YouTube - avoid reds, so your videos really stand out! Just like with your channel images, you can use Canva or Snappa to create your thumbnails as well! 55 | one million subscribers Step 3: Upload Your Video to YouTube. Since overhauling its Creator Studio in 2019, editing and uploading videos on YouTube is a seamless process. YouTube Studio also allows creators to access in-depth analytics, manage copyright claims and channel permissions, utilize monetization tools, and much more. • • To get started, visit your YouTube channel homepage and click on the blue ‘Upload Video’ button or hit the ‘create’ icon in the upper right-hand corner. Select the video you’d like to upload. While your video is uploading, take this time to fill in as many fields as possible, remembering to utilize keywords in the description, tags, and title. While your video description is the perfect place to link to your other social media accounts or website, it’s also prime real estate for infusing tags, search terms, and an overview of your content. Remember to keep the text searchprimed but also written in a natural tone. This is where you’ll upload your thumbnail, assign your video to a playlist, and add tags and captions. Be sure to include your video in the appropriate category so the right audience can find your content. 56 | o n e m i l l i o n fs o u lb lso cw r iebresr s • • Add an end screen and promotion card to your video. You can use this opportunity to lead people to other relevant videos, encourage them to subscribe, or include a strong CTA. We recommend leaving a 10-second window at the end of your video to make room for your End Screen promotion slots. For your watermark, the YouTube pros vie for Subscribe icon instead of a channel logo. Publish your video instantly, schedule it, or set it to private mode depending on your needs by selecting the corresponding option. NOTE: If you’d like to make edits to your video, be sure to set the visibility to ‘Private.’ 57 | one million subscribers Step 4: Editing Your Video. There could be a whole guide written on all the different types of editing software available alone. However, instead of delving into all the other options, we’ll walk you through how to access the basic editing functions available in YouTube Studio. There, you can trim your video, add audio and blur effects, create captions, add end screens, and more! • Click on ‘Your Channel’ in the drop-down menu of your account • You’ll see a menu on the left-hand side. Click on ‘Your Videos,’ then click on the blue ‘Manage Videos’ button. • From there, you’ll be taken to the YouTube Creator Studio. Find the video you’d like to edit and click the pencil icon. • If needed, you can edit your title, description, or anything else on this page. To make edits to the video, click ‘Editor’ in the menu on the screen’s left-hand side. • Underneath the video preview, you’ll see the available editing options. 58 | one million subscribers PHASE 1: FIRST 100 FOLLOWERS WHAT SHOULD YOU DO TODAY? Find Your Channel Niche: Deciding on your overall niche should have a focus on you’re passionate about and what drives you to keep going. Create a Google Account: You’ll need one to create a YouTube Account. Create Your YouTube Channel: Be to create a Brand Account in order to manage certain editing permissions and access additional features. Create Your Channel Theme: Utilize Canva.com to create themed elements for your channel. Create Your First Video: Decide what kind of video you’d like to create that will help you achieve your goal of getting more subscribers. • • • Create a video structure and script Decide how long your video should be Shoot your video in landscape mode Upload Your Video to Youtube: Decide what kind of video you’d like to create that will help you achieve your goal of getting more subscribers. • • • 59 | Create a power playlist Create a video thumbnail Upload and edit your video one million subscribers PHASE 2 GROW YOUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL HOW TO GET THE FIRST 1,000 FOLLOWERS 60 | one million subscribers DEVELOP YOUR STRATEGY As the second most popular search engine in the world next to Google, it’s vital that you build your strategy around all that YouTube has to offer. That includes making fantastic videos that your audience will not only want to see more of but who will watch from start to finish. Let’s go over a few tips on how to accomplish that. Build Brand Authority It’s challenging to create a sense of authority on other social media platforms. You could try to post your brand or business on Facebook, but all the middle-aged mothers there will probably think you’re part of some multi-level marketing sham. Facebook posts hardly show up when you Google something. If you’re a plumbing company that only has a presence on Facebook, you’re not going to have a lot of luck marketing on Facebook alone. You made a Facebook page. Great. You made your first post. Great. Now what? Chances are you’ll drop a couple hundred dollars on boosting an ad for your Facebook post, only for it to show up on people’s feeds who are only there to connect with family. You need to put your face, voice, and content on YouTube because that’s one of the internet’s most significant search engines. Even Google links many YouTube videos in its search results. The more you create engaging material, the more people will go to you as the authority. 61 | one million subscribers You’re a professional. You’re creating this content so you can grow your brand. You have to know your brand or service from the inside out. You learned all the “W’s” in school, the who, the what, the when, etc. You need to be able to answer everything on the fly because your audience is putting in the work for you. Why do you think content creators ask for people to subscribe and like their videos. Their followers will see what they’re enjoying. YouTube has made it possible to share everything you’re doing on YouTube with almost every other platform. That’s not as easy to do on Facebook. Your audience has a more challenging time working for you because they can easily share your post on their timeline. However, a couple of written words will not convince someone you’re the authority on your topic. Neil Patel has become an authority on marketing due to consistent content creation across multiple platforms and keeping his audience up to date. 62 | one million subscribers Once someone hears something from their family or friend, what are they going to do? They’re not going to use Facebook’s completely unintuitive search bar to look for a page. No, they’re going to Google. The first thing you want to do is bring them in with a video title and thumbnail that’s right there in their face. They would need to click on your video and make a purchase decision based on what they find. It’s surprising how many of your potential competitors don’t think about the power of YouTube when it comes to creating how-to content, frequently asked questions, product reviews, customer reviews, and other content that’s best served in a video format. Release Videos Consistently The YouTube algorithm favors channels that upload videos consistently and often. Being active is a quick way to get in YouTube’s recommendations (similar to the Instagram explore section). According to Hootsuite, “Many experts confidently cite a rule-of-thumb as to how often creators should post a video to their channels. For instance: one video a week to start, increasing to 3-4 per week as your channel grows.” While publishing often is important, it is just as important to prioritize QUALITY over quantity. If publishing once a week will maintain a high-quality standard, do it, especially since the goal is to turn viewers into subscribers. Stay relevant, stay consistent, and stay true to your brand. 63 | one million subscribers Send People to Subscriber Magnets Once you’ve gained a few describers, you can gauge which videos will garner more subscribers by determining their popularity. Do this by going to your channel analytics via your YouTube Studio Dashboard. Click on the subscribers’ tab to see which videos have brought you the most subscriptions - these are you ‘subscriber magnets.’ You can then feature this video in End Screens or as your featured video for current subscribers. Create a Unique Channel Tagline Instead of only coming up with a great name for your channel, differentiate yourself from the competition by creating a unique value proposition, which you can then turn into your tagline. Start by creating one thing that makes your channel unique from your competitors or channels with a similar niche. 64 | one million subscribers For example, your niche might be teaching personal financing, but that doesn’t exactly strike a chord. Instead, you might write something like, “More Cash in Your Savings Account.” Once you come up with something that sets you apart, add it to your channel art, and be sure to mention your tagline in your channel trailer and videos going forward. Create a Channel Trailer Entice visitors on your profile with a channel preview that gives people a featurette video of what kind of content you provide. This channel trailer can be customized to show certain videos depending on whether people are subscribed to your channel. We recommend a short and sweet trailer length of between 30 and 60 seconds. We’ll give you some quick instructions on the next page. 65 | one million subscribers Step 1: Start by clicking on the gear icon next to the red ‘Subscribe’ button. Step 2: In the ‘Channel Settings’ pop up, make sure the “Customize the layout of your channel” is turned on and hit “Save.” Step 3: Upload a video like you normally would, following the same steps you learned in Phase 1. Remember to use plenty of keywords in your video name and description. Step 4: Once your trailer is uploaded, go to your homepage and click on the ‘For new visitors’ tab, then click ‘Channel trailer.’ Step 5: Select your trailer and hit ‘Save.’ If done correctly, you should see a trailer preview similar to Marie Forleo’s, where she welcomes new viewers with a quick overview of her series. 66 | one million followers OPTIMIZE YOUR YOUTUBE VIDEOS FOR SEO You don’t need to get hundreds of thousands of views to rank well, but you do need to find a way to get your first few hundred and, if possible, first few thousand on each video. - QuickSprout Since being acquired by Google in 2006, optimizing your content for ranking factors is more important than ever. I cannot emphasize this enough. Use keywords everywhere. In your title, your tags, and especially in the description. Because Google’s algorithms depend heavily on copy when it comes to ranking, it’ll look for additional information where it’s available. From QuickSprout, “by including a detailed description of the video, you’ll naturally include related terms the algorithm can use to understand the topic of your video. This will make it easier to rank for relevant terms.” Make Metadata a Priority Other than in your video’s description text, YouTube’s algorithm looks for search terms and descriptors in other metadata as well. Don’t rely on just the description to get you popular on YouTube. Make a set of search terms and similar words that correspond to your video content, and then use those words throughout all metadata. This is one way you can boost views and engagement on each individual video while practicing good SEO tactics. 67 | one million subscribers Keep Viewers Engaged to Boost Watch Time This tip is vital. Video view duration is a performance metric that YouTube’s algorithm definitely takes into account. If people click to watch your video and then leave within a minute or (worse) a few seconds, it’s going to impact your organic reach negatively. Low view durations tell the AI that your video is not satisfying users, and increasing user satisfaction is one of the AI’s biggest goals. The higher your watch time, the more often your videos will be promoted on the YouTube homepage and suggested video sidebar. Longer views mean better rankings in search and a higher possibility of gaining subscribers, so ask your audience questions, tell a story, and keep the pace enjoyable. Utilize the Pattern Interrupt technique: Simply put, utilize elements that change a person’s thought patterns. Pattern Interrupts can include jump cuts, graphics, animations, camera angle changes, corny jokes, or whatever else helps make your videos more dynamic. A/B Test Your Content: Biteable’s definition of A/B testing (a.k.a split testing) is, “a form of statistical analysis in which you test two versions of the same thing to see which one performs better.” It’s a snazzy way of saying you’re testing different factors to see what works best and gets the most views, engagements, likes, etc. Pay attention to the video titles that get the most clicks; how you word a video title has a major impact on views. 68 | one million subscribers Try playing with metadata info, titles, video thumbnails, and the time you upload a video. If something works, do it again, and keep track of your analytics each week. YouTube doesn’t offer any A/B testing functionality currently, but you can utilize YouTube Analytics to determine which two versions performed successfully. You can use the graphic by Wistia to see what metrics you should track. 69 | one million followers Repurpose Your Content: Suppose you already own a website, blog, podcast, or have a presentation ready. In that case, there’s nothing better than throwing in some nifty transitions, putting some royalty-free audio over it, and completely repurposing it for YouTube. It’s like digging up old content you have, putting some makeup on it, and showing it off to the world. It was dead in the water on your website. Now you can link back to your website using the old repurposed content to pull people in. Look at your old content. It’s all grown up now. It’s racking up YouTube views, getting a lot of likes, a couple of dislikes, but that’s not going to affect you because, at this point, you’re already seen as an authority. YouTube gives you the best route to repurpose your content. However, if you don’t have that audience, then you’re sitting in a corner creating content no one will ever see. Putting your content on YouTube is the perfect opportunity for you to grow your audience from an ever-expanding pool of eyeballs. CONTENT REPURPOSING PYRAMID High Effort & Rare Evangelism Thought Leader Large-sale, promotional events, books/ebooks, and white papers to raise brand awareness. Mid Effort & Scheduled Regularly curated content like long-form blogs, YouTube videos, and infographics. Low Effort & Often Presence 70 | Short-form blogs, social media posts, contributed/curated content one million subscribers Include Subtitles and Closed Captions: SAdding subtitles and closed captions can help your viewers and your optimization by highlighting additional keywords within your video. YouTube saves you time by generating subtitles automatically, which you can then easily edit for any corrections. Here’s how: Step 1: From your YouTube Channel, click on the blue ‘Manage Videos’ button Step 2: Select the video you’d like to edit in the ‘Videos’ section Step 3: Click on ‘Subtitles’ in the left-hand menu Step 4: YouTube will have automatically put together subtitles that you can edit by tapping the menu icon (indicated by three dots) and tapping on ‘Edit on Classic Studio’ Step 5: Tap the grey ‘Edit’ button in the upper right-hand corner to make any changes. Once complete, click the ‘Publish edits’ button to save. 71 | one million subscribers ENGAGE WITH YOUR FANS Start by Asking Viewers to Subscribe Sometimes simply reminding a viewer to subscribe for more of the same content they enjoy can make all the difference. Don’t forget to mention the notification bell so they can stay in the loop! While this may come off as a little sales pitchy, the more creative you can be with this request, the more likely viewers will respond positively to your request. Just remember to keep it short, sweet, and to the point. Also, request people to subscribe after you’ve provided valuable information (or entertained them depending on your content type). After all, there’s a reason so many YouTubers ask the same question. Another pro tip from Hootsuite is to mention what your next video will feature. “Hyping your next video, and making it clear why it’s not to be missed, is the most organic way to encourage people to tap subscribe.” Thank Your Subscribers with Milestone Videos Subscriber milestones (like the ones we’re covering in this guide) provide a fun opportunity to thank your audience and celebrate your accomplishment. You can even take it a step further and run a contest to give your current subscribers a chance to be rewarded for contributing to your channel growth. Running a contest can even help give you a short term engagement boost. 72 | one million followers Interact with Your Audience When you think about how many people create videos on YouTube, anyone who takes the time to watch your videos and subscribe to your channel deserves some praise. Plus, YouTube creators that focus on creating a good relationship with their subscribers with garner a higher subscription rate. Engaging with your audience means staying on top of every comment, question, and plug. Follow your subscribers back and turn your channel into a devout community of fans and supporters. Your job is not to convince new viewers that you have a strong following but to truly appreciate the connections and friendship you earn from investment in one another’s efforts. Otherwise known as The Shine Theory, this long-term practice “is a commitment to asking, ‘Would we be better as collaborators than as competitors?’ The answer is almost always yes.” In the case of YouTube, healthy engagement rates can lead to powerful collaborations for each other’s channels’ mutual benefit. 73 | one million followers Take Advantage of the Creator Hearts Feature Be sure to take advantage of ‘Creator Hearts’ as well, which is an easy way to acknowledge comments that stand out to you. What’s more is that when you ‘heart’ a comment, that person will get notified of your interaction. The best part? Heart notifications get 300% more clicks than average. YouTube found that “viewers who have received a heart on their comment are three times more likely to click on the notification (than with other types of notifications), potentially leading more viewers back to your channel.” 74 | one million subscribers PHASE 2: 100-1,000 FOLLOWERS WHAT SHOULD YOU DO TODAY? Develop Your Content Strategy: Create a content strategy that correlates with your YouTube Goals. • • • • Build brand authority by posting helpful, quality content Post 1 video per week, then 3-4 week as your channel grows Utilize End Screens to send viewers to videos that have brought you the most subscriptions Create a channel tagline, or a unique value proposition Create Your Channel Trailer: This video should give people an overview of what kind of content you provide. Optimize Your Channel for SEO: Since YouTube is the world’s 2nd largest search engine, it’s vital to optimize your content for search ranking factors. • • • • • Make metadata a priority Create engaging content to boost view time A/B test your content Include subtitles and closed captions Repurpose your content Engage with Your Subscribers: Asking viewers to subscribe, replying to comments, thanking your audience, and using creator hearts are a few great ways to communicate. 75 | one million followers PHASE 3 MONETIZE & PROMOTE YOUR CHANNEL HOW TO GET THE FIRST 10,000 FOLLOWERS CROSS-PROMOTE YOUR CHANNEL Use your online presence on other social media platforms to your advantage. Sharing your latest YouTube video on, let’s say, Facebook or Twitter is a great way to engage followers across multiple platforms who might not see your latest upload otherwise. If you get a chance to promote your channel, do it! Try cross-promoting over different YouTube channels (ideally, the top channels in your niche). SEO Moz’s Rand Fishkin does this often: Search for related channels through the YouTube Search Engine and prioritize accounts with a solid amount of subscribers - aim for around 20 accounts to connect with. Subscribe to their channel, comment on their videos regularly, and, if possible, track down their email address and send a video pitch. Consider offering to host one another’s content, create cross-promotion-centered playlists, or giving shoutouts to each other in your videos. 77 | one million followers U T I L I Z E A N A LY T I C S D A T A Knowing how to read and understand your analytics will help you determine which steps you should take to increase engagement, understand your viewers, and make improvements for your channel overall. You can access your Channel Analytics via the YouTube Studio dashboard, where you can view total views, watch time, subscribers, engagement, audience demographics, and more. You can also filter these results by traffic source, geography, device type, operating system, and more in various charts. While there are several different ways to utilize this data for multiple purposes, there are a few particular metrics you should focus on. 78 | one million subscribers Watch Time: We’ve stressed the importance of watch time throughout this ebook because it’s essential for ranking high in search engine results, which in turn increases visibility and clicks. According to Hubspot, “a video’s average percentage viewed, or retention rate indicates the average percentage of a video your audience watches per view. A higher percentage means there’s a higher chance that your audience will watch that video until the end.” Traffic Sources: This report is a good indicator of how viewers find your content, whether they’re coming from Twitter, Google search engine results, or some other external source. You can refine these results to get specific traffic sourcing information from within YouTube, including YouTube advertisements, suggested videos, the YouTube search functions, or browse features. 79 | one million followers Demographics: Demographics like age and gender can help you better understand and, therefore, market to your intended audience and help you establish a more specific buyer persona for your channel. Engagement: This metric lets you know what type of content is resonating the most with your target audience. Specific engagement metrics include sharing, clicking, commenting, and promotion. You can also see this same data for cards and end screens, so you can continue to optimize your videos with high performing calls-to-action. MONETIZE YOUR ACCOUNT Now that you’ve built a bit of a following and a collection of content, you’re ready to make money from your efforts. The first step to making money on YouTube is to join the YouTube Partner Program (YPP), which allows you to get paid through advertisements on your page. To be accepted, your account must meet the following requirements: • • • • • Have at least 1,000 subscribers Cannot fall below 4,000 hours of Watch Time over 12 months You comply with all policies and guidelines You have access to Google AdSense (this is usually done when you accept the YouTube partner terms during your account setup) Reach a balance of $100 or more from views 80 | one million subscribers To check these requirements’ status, visit your channel page and tap on the blue ‘Manage Videos’ button. Then click on the ‘Monetization’ option in the left-hand menu. You can choose to be notified once you meet the requirements if you haven’t already. Getting monetized can be a tricky business, however. Some channels have been approved in days while others can face a much lengthier approval process of as long as 12 months. From VidIQ: YouTube confirms that if all or most of your channel is dedicated to reused content, and you’re not transforming the original work by adding your own unique value, then your channel is not eligible for the YouTube Partner Program. The spirit of this policy is to make sure that YouTube are incentivizing unique and original content into the YouTube Partner Program, and that YouTube are protecting and rewarding the creators who work hard on original content. YouTube does not pay based on the number of subscribers. Depending on several factors, including the number of video views, video length, and ad metrics, YouTubers stand to make between $0.01 and $0.03 per ad view and $3 to $5 per every 1,000 views. At that pay rate, a video with up to one million views can make nearly $5,000! You can also choose to generate revenue through ad click rates. According to Intuit, “Google will give you 68% of the revenue when displaying ads with AdSense. So, for example, if a video generates $1,000 from AdSense revenue, you will receive $680.” 81 | one million subscribers RUN A YOUTUBE ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN Since YouTube was acquired by Google, it’s become easier than ever to create and manage campaigns directly through the Google Ads platform. Here’s how: Step 1: Link Google Ads to Your YouTube Account • • • Log into your Google Ads account, or create a free account at ads.google.com Select the tools option in the upper right-hand corner and click ‘Linked accounts’ under the ‘Setup’ section Follow the prompts to link your YouTube account. Step 2: Choose an Ad Campaign Objective • • Upload a video to YouTube that you’d like to use as an ad prior to creating your ad Back at your Google Ads dashboard, click the Campaigns tab in the left side menu, click the plus icon, and select ‘New campaign’ 82 | one million subscribers • • Google will feature a variety of campaign types for you to choose from. Select the option that best reflects your ultimate goal. For more subscribers, we suggest the ‘Brand awareness and reach’ option. Select the ‘Video’ option as your campaign type and click ‘Continue’ Step 3: Choose Your Ad Format We recommend the following most popular YouTube ad formats: • • • TrueView: These ads can have the 5-second skip feature and are played before, during, or after a YouTube video. They can also appear in the related videos section, search results, or on the mobile homepage. Non-skippable in-steam: These are only available for reach campaigns and, as the name implies, are not able to be skipped. They’re 6-15 seconds in length and guarantee that viewers will see your ad. Bumper Ads: These ads won’t affect your view count and are up to 6 seconds in length. Social Media Examiner offers this pro tip: “When creating videos for bumper and non-skippable ads, YouTube rounds up to the next minute when you upload the video. Keep the raw video under 6 seconds because 6.1-seconds of raw footage may turn into a 7-second YouTube video after you upload it.” 83 | one million subscribers Step 4: Set a Budget, Schedule, and Bid Strategy • • • Enter your campaign name, decide on your budget, select your start and end dates. For the best results, we recommend going with Maximum CPV or Target CPV Maximum CPV: tells YouTube the max amount you’re willing to pay for each view of a TrueView Ad Target CPV: spending on these ads don’t exceed the average you’re willing to pay for conversions Step 5: Decide Where Your Ad Will Show • Choose which of the following networks you’d like your ad to appear: YouTube Search Results, YouTube Videos, or Video Partners on the Display Network (these will show outside of the YouTube platform on partner sites 84 | one million subscribers • • • • • Choose what languages your target audience speaks Choose what locations you’d like to target To ensure your ads show alongside quality-controlled content, you can select the Inventory Type. YouTube recommends the ‘Standard inventory’, which is appropriate for most brands You can then opt-out from specific sensitive categories, types, and labels to further refine where your ads show Set your Frequency Cap (found under ‘Additional Settings’). This is especially helpful if you have a smaller audience. 85 | one million subscribers Step 6: Define Your Target Audience You can narrow down your audience based on several features, including interests and habits, life events, and detailed demographics. If you have limited funds, we recommend using fewer filters to save on your cost per view. Instead, Social Media Examiner recommends you “start by understanding what moves users at each stage of the buying decision and create highly targeted ads for each audience group.” Step 7: Optimize Your Ad • Instead of looking for relevant keywords like you would for SEO, search for keywords that are likely to appear in the YouTube videos your ads will show. Search for keyword ideas by utilizing the ‘Get Keyword Ideas’ section and search for your competitor’s website and similar URLs. 86 | one million subscribers • • Select topics relevant to your brand. The broader your topic, the more people your ad will reach. Choose placement targeting from YouTube Channels to particular videos. Step 8: Set a Bid Amount Be sure not to set your bid to low or else risk your ad not running at all. Too high, and you risk burning through your budget. Use this calculation to optimize your bid strategy: Max CPV = 5 X Average CPV. For example, if your average CPV is $0.04 - $0.34, set your max CPM at $1.50 until you have enough data to make adjustments. Step 9: Select the Video You’d Like to Use for Your Ad You can do this by searching for the video you uploaded in step 1 or pasting the YouTube URL. 87 | one million subscribers THE SECRET TO CREATING THE PERFECT YOUTUBE AD THE VIDEO AD FORMULA GET ATTENTION RIGHT OFF THE BAT INTRODUCE A PROBLEM BUILD TRUST OR AUTHORITY (surprise/shock, direct call out) (speak to pains or desires) (give them a reason to listen) OFFER SOLUTION CALL TO ACTION (can you solve their problem?) (give them something to do) Listed at the top of YouTube’s Top ‘Direct Response’ Ads list, Dr. Squatch Soap Company follows the YouTube Ad formula perfectly. First, their ad grabs attention by using the shock factor of smashing a plate into a boulder followed with an unpredictable exclamation: “You’re not a dish, you’re a man.” The problem they introduce is that most men’s soaps are synthetic and enhanced with chemicals that aren’t appropriate for skin care. Next, they build authority via street interviews about their product and showcasing consumer reviews. They then offer a strong solution by providing information on the all-natural ingredients used to make their soap products healthier and more appealing. Finally, their call to action invites viewers to visit their website to make a purchase. Watch the full video here. 88 | one million subscribers PHASE 3: 1,000-10,000 FOLLOWERS WHAT SHOULD YOU DO TODAY? Cross-Promote Your Channel: Share your videos across multiple platforms to attract viewers who might not see your latest upload otherwise. • Reach out to top channels in your niche to cross-promote across youtube as well. Study Analytics Data: Study key performance factors like watch time, traffic sources, demographics, and engagement. Monetize Your Account: The first step to making money on YouTube is to join the YouTube Partner Program (YPP). Create a YouTube Ad Campaign: Create and manage campaigns directly through the Google Ads platform • • • • • • • • • 89 | Link Google Ads to Your YouTube Account Choose a Ad Campaign Objective Choose Your Ad Format Set a Budget, Schedule, and Bid Strategy Decide Where Your Ad Will Show Define Your Target Audience Optimize Your Ad Set a Bid Amount Select the Video You’d Like to Use for Your Ad one million subscribers PHASE 4 CREATE DIFFERENT TYPES OF CONTENT HOW TO GET THE FIRST 100,000 FOLLOWERS VERIFY YOUR ACCOUNT Verifying your YouTube account plays a huge role in monetizing your channel. Unlike the basic verification you completed when you set up your account, verifying your account to get the envious checkmark badge (and keep it) indicates your channel is authentic and lets people know that you’re an established creator. While having a verified account doesn’t earn you any additional features, it does validate your credibility and build trust in new viewers. To get your YouTube verification badge, your channel must meet the following criteria: Note: As of July 29th, 2020, YouTube has yet to roll out its new verification badge design. YouTube announced changes back in 2019, but there have been no updates since then. 91 | one million subscribers If you feel you meet the criteria and still have not received your verification badge, here’s how you can apply: Step 1: Visit Google’s support page Step 2: Scroll down to the ‘Apply for channel verification’ section and click on the ‘Apply now’ link Step 3: Tap the record icon, and you’ll be live after a 3-second countdown timer. The longer you’re live, the higher the chance that more people will see you! HOST YOUTUBE CONTESTS Much like hosting regular live streams, running a contest on your channel can boost engagement rates, especially if the prize appeals to your target demographics. Millennials, for example, prefer experiences while younger audiences enjoy free products or contributions to a cause. 92 | one million subscribers Before deciding on the contest prize, however, be sure to establish specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely goals. For example, LimmyBoi Vlogs runs iPhone giveaway promotions in exchange for 1,000 likes on his videos. With this tactic, he gained 3X that number! The idea is to make your contest simple to enter but utilizing entries through likes, subscribes, or comments. NOTE: Before running any contests on your page, be sure to read through YouTube’s regulations to familiarize yourself with their rules. Here are a few to pay attention to: • • • • • Your contest must be free to enter Be aware of any copyright laws and any regulations regarding contests, lotteries, or sweepstakes. Never use third-party services to manipulate metrics Provide clear ‘Official Contest Rules’ You are 100% responsible for your contest 93 | one million subscribers HOST LIVE STREAMS Hosting regularly scheduled live streams on your channel is a great way to garner more engagement and interest from viewers. You can use live streams as an opportunity to create buzz about an event, a product reveal, a special guest, or live Q&As! Be sure to announce your live streams ahead of time via other social media platforms or video shoutouts, so people know when to expect your stream.. Going live on YouTube is a pretty straight forward process. From your YouTube Dashboard, click on the ‘Create’ button in the righthand corner and select ‘Go Live’. Just be sure to have your title, description, and thumbnail image prepared beforehand. You can choose to utilize a webcam for desktop streaming, use a software/ hardware encoder, or use your smartphone camera to stream on the go. Once your live stream is complete, simply select the ‘End Stream’ button. 94 | one million subscribers PARTNER WITH OTHER YOUTUBE CHANNELS Collaborations with YouTube creators are 4x better at driving brand familiarity than those with celebrities. - Hootsuite By collaborating with other creators, you’re guaranteed to expand your reach to a new audience who may not be familiar with your channel yet. Even a simple name drop by a prominent YouTuber can result in turning their viewers into your subscribers. Andy George of How to Make Everything saw an amazing 9% increase in total subscribers after collaborating with Cody’s Lab and King of Random. The thought of trying to connect with a prominent YouTuber can be as daunting as trying to reach out to an A-list celebrity. Cutting through all the clutter and red tape and office bureaucracy can seem like trying to cut through walls with a plastic spoon. 95 | one million subscribers However, getting a reply from a famous YouTuber is not impossible! Here are a few tips for collaborating with YouTubers who seem out of your reach. Reaching Out on YouTube: By accessing the contact tab YouTube provides on most channels, you can usually find an email address ‘For business inquiries’ in the ‘About’ section. Additionally, you can try a direct message by clicking on the ‘Send message’ button next to the flag icon in the ‘About’ section. Utilize Other Social Media Accounts: While this is a less effective method of reaching out, it’s useful to utilize all your options. The three obvious platforms to try and make contact through are Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. You can usually find a YouTuber’s social media links in the video description or through a simple Google search. Build an Authentic Relationship: Not only should you be authentic through your outreach, but be sure you’re also reaching an authentic person to be sure you get a genuine response. Make sure the two of you are a compatible match and that a collab with this person makes sense for your channel and theirs. According to Outbound, “When contacting YouTubers to partner up, it may seem enticing to simply go for the channels who have the largest following or view counts. While this makes sense in theory, if you don’t have the right fit, your message will likely go unnoticed.” 96 | one million subscribers Use a Public Relations Firm: Using a PR firm can be a pricey option but the most effective since these firms usually have established a trusted communication line with celebrities and influencers already. Bear in mind that even if you pay for a PR firm to make contact, there’s no guarantee you’ll get the result you’re looking for. Where to Find YouTubers Who Want to Collab • • • • • • 97 | YouTube Creators G+ Community YouTube Creator Help Forum SocialBlade Forums YTTalk Forums YouCollab The book, “30 Days to a Better YouTube Channel” one million subscribers PHASE 4: 10,000-100,000 FOLLOWERS WHAT SHOULD YOU DO TODAY? Verify Your Account: Verifying your account will show a check mark badge on your channel, which indicates your channel is authentic and lets people know that you’re an established creator. Host a YouTube Contest: Running a contest on your channel can help boost engagement rates, especially if the prize appeals to your target demographics. • NOTE: Before running any contests on your page, be sure to read through YouTube’s regulations to familiarize yourself with their rules. Host a Live Stream: Use a live stream as an opportunity to create buzz about an event, a product reveal, a special guest, or live Q&As. Partner with Other Channels: Reach out to other creators to expand your reach to a new audience who may not be familiar with your channel yet. • • • • 98 | Reach out directly through YouTube Utilize other social media accounts Build an authentic relationship Hire a PR firm one million followers PHASE 5 MULTIPLY YOUR EARNINGS HOW TO GET THE FIRST 1,000,000 FOLLOWERS 99 | one million subscribers PROMOTE AND SELL CHANNEL MERCHANDISE Since you’ve developed a strong YouTube identity, it is now a great opportunity to offer branded merchandise to your fanbase. You can sell almost anything from t-shirts, tote bags, baseball caps, books, and more! Plus, with free creator-specific, print-on-demand sites like Teespring, Flashfomo, and Design by Humans, there’s no need to keep inventory on hand or worry about shipping anything yourself. Print-on-demand services are an alternative way to sell goods online. It’s up to the supplier to take care of the buying process from printing to handling to shipping. All you have to do is upload the initial design and pay for the product only after you’ve made a sale. From Shopify, “print-on-demand is a process where you work with a supplier to customize white-label products (like baseball hats or tote bags) with your own designs to sell them on a per-order basis under your own brand.” Once you’ve created some products, you can promote them on your channel in various ways. Here are a few ways: Create a Merch Shelf: Activate YouTube’s Merch Shelf integration to feature your products directly under your video (think a mini e-commerce section). To see if your account is applicable for Merch Shelf, sign in to your YouTube Studio and click on the ‘Monetization’ in the left-hand menu. 100 | one million subscribers If your account is eligible (10,000+ subscribers, audience set as not ‘Made for Kids), you’ll see the ‘Merchandise’ tab. Finally, link your merch store to your YouTube channel by following the on-screen instructions. You can display up to 12 products and arrange them in the order of your choice. From the ‘Merchandise’ tab, simply click ‘Organize’ on the ‘Status’ card and drag and drop in the order you desire before saving your changes. Promote Merch on Your Channel Page: Once you link your store to your channel, you’ll automatically see a ‘Store’ tab added to your page. From YouTube, “this tab will showcase all of your items currently displayed on the merch shelf. You can link out to the ‘Store’ tab from comments, description, and Community posts by simply copy and pasting its URL.” You can also take a page out of Strictly Dumpling’s book and customize your channel art to showcase your merchandise with a callout and adding your store’s link to your channel and video descriptions. 101 | one million subscribers Promote Merch on Your Livestreams: Not only are live streams an excellent way to boost your viewership, but they provide a perfect opportunity to promote your merch in an engaging way. In addition to wearing your merch during a live stream, you can announce exclusive sales, new releases, and limited edition merch to build an incentive for your viewers to make a purchase. Offering promotions is a great way to promote engagement for future live streams and reward your audience. 102 | one million subscribers PUBLISH SPONSORED VIDEOS One of the more popular and effective ways of making money on YouTube is through sponsored videos or videos that are custom branded or promotional and usually published by a prominent influencer - that’s you! Note that not all sponsored videos need to be product-focused. They can be as simple as giving a name drop of your sponsor before your actual video begins. (Regardless of what type of video you post, YouTubers are required to disclose if their content is sponsored to comply with FTC guidelines.) Plus, unlike getting paid by YouTube for views, established YouTubers can charge the brands they’re promoting upwards of $50 per 1,000 views - that’s $50,000 for 1 million views! 103 | one million subscribers As you grow your channel, you may even join the ranks of PewDiePie, who’s reportedly earned a whopping $124 million since 2010. According to Newship, “compared to videos from traditional celebrities, the top 25 Youtube influencers’ videos drive 3x the views and 12x the comments.” Viewers appreciate honest reviews and videos from people they trust and look up to. That’s where you come in. If you produce quality content, share a similar audience, and have established your personal brand, you have all the qualities sponsors look for. CONNECT WITH SPONSORS Sometimes getting a sponsorship is as simple as reaching out to a business that can benefit from being advertised on your channel. Simply send an email or direct message asking if they’re interested or have ever considered working with YouTubers and see where the conversation goes from there. 104 | one million subscribers If you want to connect with sponsors and aren’t sure where to begin, there are great resources that help put newer or smaller YouTube channels in contact with companies actively offering sponsorships! Izea.com | Connect with brands, advertisers, and publishers for sponsorship opportunities to create and share content across your social media accounts in exchange for compensation. Grapevinevillage.com | Find brand opportunities you can’t see anywhere else. Keep track of your brand sponsorships and make lasting relationships with channel sponsors. Sponsorpitch.com | SponsorPitch helps make quick, smart connections between sponsoring brands and sponsorship opportunities. Channelpages.com | Brands, small businesses, ad & creative agencies, along with fellow creators from across the world, use Channel Pages to find video partners for collaborations, promotional videos, and integrated marketing campaigns. FameBit.com by YouTube | US-Based Eligible creators with over 25K subscribers can sign-up for FameBit Full Service in YouTube Studio. 105 | one million subscribers AFFILIATE MARKETING Affiliate marketing is a way to use customized links to send people to the products you recommend. If they make a purchase, you’ll get a portion of the final sale. If you have a large following, this can be a simple way to make some extra cash, especially if you have a fan base who values and trusts your opinion or you don’t want to necessarily want to worry about partnering up with a brand. There are many affiliate programs available to users and are usually free and simple to sign up for. According to Wondershare, “most major brands will offer some kind of sales commission, so if you’re in a niche that calls for specialist products to promote, do contact brands directly to find out what they can offer.” A simple Google search of ‘Affiliate Programs’ can bring up numerous options - we recommend the ever-popular Amazon Affiliate program to start. It’s completely free to sign up, and you’ll get a 10% from qualifying purchases. 106 | one million subscribers To promote your affiliate links, shorten them in a link shortener such as bit.ly or rebrandly to make your links more attractive and paste them into your video and channel descriptions. Be sure to promote products that are on brand and fit within your niche. The more the products you’re pitching resonate with your audience, the more likely they are to buy. YouTuber MakeupbyAmarie makes use of several affiliate links with her makeup haul videos. 107 | one million subscribers INVEST IN PROFESSIONAL EQUIPMENT & SOFTWARE While it’s simple enough to film a video on your phone and post it to YouTube, the right equipment can help boost the quality of your videos and, in turn, your watch rate. We’ve compiled a list of equipment and software that will make the video creation process smoother - without breaking the bank. Best Screen Capture Software Window 10 Game Bar | Price: FREE Included with Windows 10 that lets you take screenshots and record and broadcast video games. CamStudio | Price: FREE Open-source screencasting program for Microsoft Windows, which renders videos in an AVI format. Loom | Price: FREE Record and share video messages of your screen, cam, or both. Free to use on Mac, Windows, Chrome, and iOS. DOWNLOAD DOWNLOAD DOWNLOAD Best Video Editing Software Filmora9 Video Editor | Price: $39.99/Year Support 800+ Effects & 50+ Formats. 4K Editing Support. 800+ Stunning Effects. MP4, MOV, MTS/M2TS, VOB, AVI. 108 | one million subscribers PURCHASE iMovie Video Editor | Price: FREE iMovie is a video editing software application developed by Apple Inc. for macOS, iOS, and iPadOS devices. Adobe Premier Pro | Price: $20.99/Month the industry-leading video editing software for film, TV, and the web. Billed annually. DOWNLOAD PURCHASE Best Video Shooting Equipment Diva Ring Light Super Nova | $250 PURCHASE GoPro Hero Session | $199.99 PURCHASE Sony FDRAX33 4k Camcorder | $698 PURCHASE Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III | $689 PURCHASE DJI Osmo Pocket | $297.99 PURCHASE Blue Yeti USB Microphone | $150 PURCHASE Zoom ZH1 H1 Portable Recorder | $68.99 PURCHASE 109 | one million subscribers Best Channel Optimizing Tools TubeBuddy | Free or Paid starting at $9/mo A FREE browser extension & mobile app that eases channel maintenance, and helps with things like titles, descriptions, tags, annotations, cards and more. DOWNLOAD Awario | Free or paid starting at $29/mo Social Monitoring tool that can find relevant discussions, join them in real time, and spread the word about your product, service, or content across the Web to reach new audiences and trigger word-of-mouth marketing. DOWNLOAD Canva | Price: Free or paid starting at $13/mo Graphic design platform that allows users to create social media graphics, presentations, posters, documents and other visual content. 110 | one million subscribers DOWNLOAD FINAL PHASE: 100,000-1,000,000 FOLLOWERS WHAT SHOULD YOU DO TODAY? Create and Sell Channel Merch: Utilize creator specific, print-on-demand sites like Teespring, Flashfomo, and Design by Humans to link your store to your channel. • • Create a merch shelf by signing in to your YouTube Studio and clicking on the ‘Monetization’ in the left-hand menu. If your account is eligible, you’ll see the ‘Merchandise’ tab. Promote your merch on a live stream. Post a Sponsored Video: If you don’t have a sponsor yet, reach out to some through sponsorship marketplaces like Grapevinevillage.com, and Channelpages.com. Participate in Affiliate Marketing: A simple Google search of ‘Affiliate Programs’ can bring up numerous options - we recommend the ever-popular Amazon Affiliate program to start. • Shorten affiliate liknks in a link shortener such as bit.ly or rebrandly. • Paste them into your video and channel descriptions Invest in Professional Equipment & Software: the right equipment can help boost the quality of your videos and, in turn, your watch rate. 111 | one million followers KEY TAKE-AWAYS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING WITH YOUTUBE? A decade ago, Salman Khan, a young hedge fund analyst, headed out on a mission to help his 12-year-old cousin from failing her math classes. As they were physically separated by distance, his options were limited. Initially, he used Yahoo! ’s Doodle notepad to take private lessons. Soon, he began making innovative and interactive videos to keep his little cousin entertained while learning simultaneously. He made several videos discussing mathematical concepts ranging from long division to fractions. His little cousin found them immensely benefiting as she could rewatch them again and again until she grasped the idea thoroughly. In 2006, Khan’s friend lauded his video lessons and convinced him to upload them on YouTube. Within weeks, he began receiving messages appreciating his work. 113 | one million subscribers Students from across the world said that his videos changed the way they learn. Years later, he quit his job and invested the entirety of his time on Khan Academy, a name almost every student is now aware of. Today, Khan Academy has extended its scope to multiple subjects and has about 15 million registered students. A brand that is endorsed by the world’s leaders, from Obama to Bill Gates; There are people worldwide that believe in Khan’s vision. This is just one out of many other success stories that YouTube has played a prominent role in. Such stories are not only a ray of hope for young entrepreneurs, but it’s a great example of how digitalization and platforms like YouTube have provided us with innumerable opportunities. That said, the most essential thing about YouTube is the potential to find success in doing what you love. 114 | one million subscribers CLOSING REMARKS & THANKS “SUCCESS IS NOT A RACE; IT’S A MARATHON.”-JONATHAN SKOGMO Whether you’ve reached your goal of one million followers or not at this point, you should be very proud of yourself. Taking all of the things you’ve learned throughout this book and applying them in real-life situations is a testament to your dedication and tenacity. Well done! Keep in mind that these tricks and techniques are all part of a larger marketing whole, and can be applied to multiple marketing faucets. You can use what you’ve learned on other social media platforms, your email subscription efforts, how you put together your website, and more. More importantly, you can accomplish amazing feats when you put your mind to it. The team would like to sincerely thank you for purchasing this ebook. With more than 100,000+ influencers, entrepreneurs, and companies who trust Social Media Calendar™, you’re part of a community that is here to help you make the most of your social media efforts. Take a look at some of our other products and skyrocket your results. READY-MADE TEMPLATES FOR SOCIAL MEDIA SEE ALL BUNDLES SOCIALMEDIACALENDAR.CO
