Ask any YouTuber and they will tell you that generating significant views and subscribers isn't easy. But with the right strategy and tools, any video creator can build an engaged subscriber base when they understand what those subscribers want to watch.

Appealing to an audience to watch content you are passionate about making is just the first step, you need to know how to reach them and get your videos discovered. Our guides to how to guide more views on YouTube will give you the best tips to succeed on the platform.

How To Get More Views on YouTube

Do you want to make money on YouTube? Millions of creators are earning a very good living from the platform by uploading content that drives huge views and engagements. Whether that income is from advertising revenue, merch sales, or brand deals, we keep you updated with best practises and ideas.

How To Make Money on YouTube

Do you know how to do keyword research so you understand what videos people are actually searching for on YouTube? Do you know how to create a custom YouTube thumbnail? Do you know how to create a Playlist on YouTube?

vidIQ has a ton of tips that will help every creator maximise their video content. We publish content every week to keep you up to date with all the best practices.

YouTube Tips & Tricks

If you’ve put off creating your own YouTube channel because you’re overwhelmed with the choices you need to make or are panicking because you feel you lack the right skills to succeed, worry no more and welcome to the only resource you’ll need to fulfill your video creator dreams.

If this is your first time here, we have a 

 that aims to educate you on your YouTube journey. And if it is your plan to grow your channel, make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel, and click on our notification bell so you don't miss any of our latest tips, tricks, advice, and news.

How to Start Your YouTube Channel: 10 Top Tips

We promised 20 tips to kickstart your YouTube channel, so let's start delivering on that promise with 10 tips in this post and 10 tips in the 

. All the tips are covered in this video too:

So amazingly, there are still some people out there who are thinking of starting a YouTube channel and have been for months, possibly even years. My advice to you is, ready or not, start now. And I'm not telling you this as a New Year's resolution. Every moment you hesitate or procrastinate, there are thousands of video creators starting their YouTube channel today, and gobbling up all your potential audience. You don't want that.

Feel the fear, do it anyway. Start, press record. Record whatever you want today. It doesn't matter if it doesn't end up on YouTube. You need to gain experience in getting in front of the camera, getting behind the camera, using your editing program. You need to start creating content to find out whether or not you enjoy making videos before you know whether or not you enjoy being a YouTuber.

Tip #2 Learn How YouTube Works, No Seriously:

The chances are, that the first video you make is going to absolutely suck. Fantastic, you've made a video. You've made the first step, and in six months’ time, you'll look back at that first video and think yeah, that really was terrible, but you've gotta start the journey somewhere. And with that, you've gotta start your YouTube channel somewhere as well, even if you're not ready. Create a YouTube account, upload a video to YouTube. You don't have to publish it, that's the important thing.

You need to gain experience going through the workflow of uploading videos. The last thing you want is having a brilliant video ready to upload, but you don't know how the YouTube system works. Again, experience is going to trump any advice any of us can give you, so record a video, upload it to YouTube. You don't have to publish it.

Tip #3 Develop a Strategy you Will Actually Follow:

While getting some practical experience behind you is obviously a good thing, you also want some form of strategy. So, answer these questions:

What do you want your channel to achieve on YouTube

, and when you're answering this, try and answer it from a viewer's perspective, not your perspective. So I don't want to hear about hitting 10,000 subscribers, a million views, or whatever. If your viewers know that you're in it for your own self-gain, they will see through it and immediately switch off. Viewers want to know what they can gain from the content, and you want to sell that as much as possible in your videos.

 Again, try and be as specific as possible. What age range? What gender, if you are going to a particular gender? What type of demographic? What are they interested in? You need to know who's going to watch your content.

 There are millions of gaming channels out there, hundreds of thousands of Fortnite channels out there. How are you going to distinguish your content from everybody else who's already on YouTube making content? You need to disrupt the status quo, not join it, because you'll never be seen.

how are you going to deliver this content?

 Is it going to be every day, once a week, at a particular time of the day? Think about when your audience is most likely to watch YouTube, and how much YouTube they can watch per week, and then tailor your content to those watching habits, and think about whether you're going to do video on demand, live streams, what's going to be best for you and your audience?

Tip #4 Find Your Niche and Build the Hell Out of It:

live streams, you'll know this one off by heart. Niche down. Let me give you a quick example. What's your channel about? If you're giving an answer such as, "My channel's about beauty, and it's about travel, "and it's about vlogging," then it's about too many things. 

. It should be about one specific topic, when you start your channel, because you need to appeal to a very specific audience.

Once you've grown your channel, and you've got millions of subscribers who fall in love with you, you can take them on a journey wherever you want, but to begin with, the audience is only interested in the content. They have no investment in you. Try and remember that. It's a cruel lesson to understand, but it will help you when you first start out on YouTube.

Once you've thought about and answered all of these questions, I want you to wrap it all up in a nice little present, called your value proposition. This is your elevator pitch. Try and tell your audience who you are, and why they should watch you, in around about six words.

. It tells you the who, YouTubers, video creators, and why they should watch, because they will learn how to grow their channels. But we've managed to do that in four words. Now it's your turn.

Tip #6 Invest in the Right Audio Equipment:

If you've just started out on YouTube, and you're wondering what your first tech upgrade should be, it is 100% audio, and here's why. Bad audio is so much more distracting than bad video, and everybody hates onboard microphones. 

So if you can, get yourself a dedicated microphone for your camera,

 and if you're recording from a computer, you can't go far wrong with a Blue Yeti.

Tip #7 Create a Formula with Template Videos:

Videos need structure, so when you make your next video, try to think of how you will develop a show formula, that you can use as a template for your future videos. Remember at the beginning of this video, I literally gave you a hook. An introduction, a teaser to what's going to be going on for the rest of this video. Then we have the branded intro, followed by an introduction to who we are for new viewers, a call to action to subscribe to our channel, and then we jumped into the meat of the content where we are right now, and at the end of this video, you'll see how we round this all up.

Your show formula will take time to structure, and it will evolve over the course of your YouTube journey. Try and keep an eye out for this when you watch your favorite YouTubers. As rough and as random as they might appear, there is always structure and story behind each video, and that's why you watch them.

Some people love analytics, others hate them, but there are a couple that are crucial to keep an eye on, whether or not you want to look at that analytics. The first is 

This represents how enticing your titles are, and how clickable your thumbnails are. Check the click-through rate for your channel as a whole, and on individual videos as you test. I'm not going to give you all of the same target to reach. Check what your current click-through rate is, and whether it's two, four, six, or eight percent. I want you to try and improve that by two to three percent this year. It will bring in so many more views.

The other metric, as it always has been, is 

. Generally speaking, the more watch time you get, the more YouTube is going to promote your content. But if you make shorter videos, that doesn't necessarily mean you must make longer videos, because your audience might not react very well to those longer videos.

What I will say is maximize the value of your watch time in the videos that you have. That's by looking at relative audience retention. How does your video stack up to similar videos, in terms of whether people are still watching or not, and try and improve the relative audience retention. Having said that, if your average view duration is 60, 70, 80%, you're doing really well, and it gives you a license to try testing longer videos.

Verify your YouTube account. That will give you access to the most important tool on YouTube, which is custom thumbnails. We've got a video here on how to do it.

Tip #10 Create an Engaging, Interesting Channel Banner:

If I see another generic cityscape, or rolling hills in the channel banner when we do channel audits, I'm going to rip out my hair.

10 more tips or creating and growing your YouTube channel

If you want to take your YouTube channel to the next level and 

 then make sure to download vidIQ. Join over 1 million other users and use vidIQ to help you research YouTube, analyze videos, audit your own channel, and take actionable steps 

Members of the vidIQ family that have upgraded to our Boost and Pro packages get immediate access to the Academy 

 so you can kickstart your YouTube success today! Access to the exclusive vidIQ academy will give you a huge advantage over your competitors from the get-go. 

Kick off your YouTube dreams with the tools you need to launch YOUR channel. We've got the top tips just for you!

How to Start a YouTube Channel: 10 Brilliant Tips

Increasing your views on YouTube is the key to growing a successful channel. From creating better thumbnails to writing click-worthy titles, here's how to unlock your best content.

YouTube is tons of fun, but that doesn't mean there's no strategy involved. You need the right mindset – a growth mindset, to be exact – before you press record and upload your first video.

Don't worry: We'll break down that elusive path to YouTube growth.

Reaching those goals requires the same thing: a creator's mentality.

Here are three underrated beliefs you need to succeed on YouTube:

You can grow a YouTube channel using only a smartphone and WiFi (no fancy gear required).

Making terrible videos won’t destroy you or your channel (if you’re willing to learn as you go).

Longevity is better than overnight success (consistent views are better than one viral hit).

These statements fly under the radar, but they’re the foundation of successful channels and the creators behind them.

It’s tempting to post whatever you want on YouTube, from DIY projects to hair tutorials to your latest cryptocurrency splurge. After all, it’s your channel, and what’s wrong with mixing things up from time to time? Viewers will learn to appreciate your love for baseball, boba tea, and trail running, right?

Unfortunately, that’s not how viewers think; they want to see videos that cater to their interests over and over again. To make that happen, you’ll want to find a niche you’re passionate about and start creating videos within that sphere.

Read More: How to Choose the Best Niche for Your YouTube Channel

You’ll get more views on YouTube by making focused content in the long run.

YouTube will categorize your channel, then recommend your videos to people with similar interests (free promotion).

You'll gain like-minded subscribers who return to watch more videos on your channel (consistent YouTube views).

3. Create a Value Proposition for Your Channel

On YouTube, you’re essentially trading value for views. That means each video you upload offers something the viewer wants – an escape from boredom, home buying tips, delicious recipes, or whatever your expertise is. You’ll get plenty of views on YouTube if you master this exchange.

Read More: How to Make the EXACT Videos YouTube Subscribers Want to See

The first step is creating a value proposition or a short slogan that describes your channel’s worth.

“Educating your YouTube journey” (YouTube education channel)

“Decoding the mysteries of space” (space exploration channel)

“Maxing your digital money” (cryptocurrency channel)

These statements look like channel summaries on the surface, but they’re actually promises. They remind you of what viewers want to see on YouTube so you can address those topics only.

4. Do Some Keyword Research Before Filming

It’s almost impossible to make popular videos if you don't know what people are searching for on YouTube. The solution? Do some keyword research within your niche. Look for high-volume keywords with low competition so you can boost your channel's search traffic.

Read More: 7 Ways to Discover the Best YouTube Keywords for Your Channel

If you need help finding keywords, check out the vidIQ keyword research tool. Simply type any word or phrase into the tool’s search bar to discover how keywords are performing on YouTube.

A list of related keywords to deepen your search

Once you find the right keywords, add them to your video title, description, and video chapters to increase your YouTube view count.

5. Create Video Titles Using the Keywords You Discovered

We haven’t gotten around to filming yet, but that’s OK. The keyword research you did earlier will help you write an awesome title for your video.

Of course, a good title has more than keywords. It also indicates:

Read More: 9 Ways to Write Exciting YouTube Titles for Your Videos

Here’s an example. If you have a video about getting YouTube subscribers, “How to Get 1,000 Subscribers,” is a good starting point.

Now compare that to a title like “Under 1,000 Subscribers? Try This.” Adding that last bit of information at the end – “try this” – begs the question: What exactly should I be trying? The next logical step is to click and find out.

A boring title is usually too vague. If you write something like “Real Estate Tips for Buyers,” that’s not helpful because the real estate market is location-based. Plus, are we talking about houses, land, or commercial buildings? In this case, your title isn't specific enough.

To write better titles, try to capture your community’s shared language.

For example, have you heard of Zeusy the Pitty? This adorable “talking” dog has a YouTube channel with more than 29 million views. People love his droopy eyes and classic head tilts.

It also helps that Zeusy's videos have amazing titles. His owner uses keywords like “talking pit bull,” (because pit bulls are vocal) and it’s a relatable detail. Zeusy’s owner also calls himself “dad” to emphasize the parent-child relationship between owners and their pets.

Check out this title to see how it all comes together: “Talking Pitbull Argues With His Dad! This Dog Is Too Smart!!”

Do you see the appeal? The title speaks the language of dog enthusiasts and has some emotional intrigue ("this dog is too smart"). And guess what? The video has more than 170,000 views.

6. Create an Attractive, Uncluttered Thumbnail

Did you know you can upload custom thumbnails after verifying your YouTube channel?

You don’t need thousands of subscribers, watch time, or a certain number of videos to do this. Your channel doesn’t even have to be monetized. From day one, you can use custom graphics to encourage more clicks and views.

Check out this thumbnail from our YouTube channel. The video it’s paired with, “How to Get 4,000 Hours of Watch Time,” has more than 450,000 views. We’d say it’s working for us so far.

Here are nine tips for creating better YouTube thumbnails:

Keep your thumbnails simple. Viewers should be able to understand them in mere seconds.

Increase the saturation and vibrancy of the image to make it pop.

Remove the background from your image and insert a better design.

Use a ring light to take well-lit thumbnail images.

Fill enough negative space so the image feels complete.

Incorporate short, snappy text – perhaps four words or less.

Aim for three main elements and one background color.

Read More: YouTube Thumbnail Guide: 9 Ways to Boost Click-Through Rate

If you’re making custom thumbnails but aren’t getting more views, read this post to see what you’re doing wrong. Once you’ve found the problem, download vidIQ and use the thumbnail preview tool to compare your images to those from other creators before publishing. Simply type in a keyword to compare different thumbnails.

Want to go viral with at least one of your videos? Get more views in 24 hours than you have in the last 24 months?

Start your journey here. We'll show you how to create popular videos and attract new viewers on YouTube.

7. New to YouTube? Go for Quantity Over Quality

Here’s the deal with being new on YouTube: No one – and we mean nobody at all – knows who you are. You get zero views because YouTube’s algorithm hasn’t “noticed” your channel yet.

You can fix this by creating 25-50 videos in your first six months. If each video addresses your niche, YouTube will begin to understand your content. It will know whether you’re the go-to creator for cat videos, bitcoin investing, or another topic. Eventually, YouTube will recommend your content to those enthusiasts.

Read More: Quantity Over Quality - The One Thing New YouTubers Should Focus On

Creating 25-50 videos isn’t just a way to penetrate the algorithm.

You’ll eventually learn to make quality videos as you strive for quantity.

8. Ready to Film? Hook Viewers with a Good Intro

Your video’s intro is crucial. Within the first 30 seconds, viewers decide if they're going to A) keep watching or B) abandon the video.

Making them stay means you collect more watch time, which is always lovely. But a better reward is satisfying people so they return to give you more views.

Want to create better intros? Here’s what you need to do:

Make it quick so viewers get what they came for sooner.

Don’t do a generic intro introducing yourself and the video topic. Jump right into the good stuff and introduce yourself later.

Looking for ways to boost your views on YouTube? These 25 tips will help you attract more viewers, make better content, and promote your channel. 

25 Ways to Increase YouTube Views by Yourself – for Free

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We all want to grow our YouTube channels and while we heavily rely on our analytics, sometimes it's those little tips that can really help us.

While we need to focus on the major metrics such as CTR, Retention, Watch Time, etc. we shouldn't forget to focus on the little tweaks that could end up having a very positive impact too.

On today's episode of TubeTalk, Alan Spicer and I chat about these quick wins that anyone can do on any channel size. Discover how leveraging the following can give your channel a boost:

Why You Must 'Niche Down' if You Want to Succeed on YouTube

Focusing in on just one type of video content can really make you stand out as a YouTube creator. It can also make your YouTube channel grow super fast! Find out more 

TubeTalk has been informing video creators and marketers since 2014, and is one of the most respected and listened to podcasts in the online video industry. Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE to TubeTalk on your favorite podcast app so you never miss an episode!

You can also find the complete list of all the 

On this episode of TubeTalk, you will learn 5 quick and easy ways to help your channel grow.

5 Quick & Easy Tips for Growing Your YouTube Channel

YouTube shorts are the new hot trending topic in the YouTube world. But what are they? 

YouTube has not been totally clear about how they work, so we decided to do our own investigation into YouTube Shorts.

On this episode of TubeTalk, vidIQ's own Rob Wilson, Dan Carson, and Liron Segev answer all your YouTube Shorts questions including:

What are the requirements for creating them?

Do you need to have #shorts in the title and description?

Should you put Shorts on your main channel

Want to Know Even More About YouTube Shorts?

How Creators Can Get More Views With YouTube Shorts

Can You Get 1 Million YouTube Views By Making Short Videos?

YouTube Shorts: What We Know About How They Work

You can also find the complete list of all the

In this episode of TubeTalk, vidIQ does its own investigation into YouTube Shorts. You're welcome.

YouTube Shorts: The Ultimate Guide

To say 2020 has been weird is an understatement! So as we round off the year and head into the final quarter of 2020, what should we focus on as YouTube creators?

While it's easy to be despondent, you can easily double-down on the skills you have and still finish this year on a high note! In this episode of TubeTalk, we're joined by YouTube mastermind Benji Travis. As one of the guys behind the influential 

, he knows a thing or two about YouTube success! In this episode you will learn:

Important lessons for creators from the 2008 recession

That you have skills that businesses need

Want to Know the Five Big Mistakes YouTubers Make?

Benji has joined us before on TubeTalk to talk about the top five mistakes YouTube creators often make. These mistakes can often block their path to success. 

TubeTalk has been the #1 podcast for video creators and marketers since 2014. It's one of the most respected and listened to podcasts in the online video industry, so don't forget to SUBSCRIBE to TubeTalk on your favorite podcast app so you never miss an episode!

2020 has been a very challenging year, but YouTube creators can still end the year on a successful note. Find out how in this episode of TubeTalk.

How to Start a YouTube Channel: 10 Brilliant Tips

Carla Marshall

25 Ways to Increase YouTube Views by Yourself – for Free

Lydia Sweatt

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Liron Segev

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Rob Sandie

5 Quick & Easy Tips for Growing Your YouTube Channel

Liron Segev

YouTube Shorts: The Ultimate Guide

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What YouTube Creators Need to Focus on for the Rest of 2020

Liron Segev

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