YouTube is constantly changing and evolving. Long gone are the days dominated by funny cat videos and dogs on skateboards. Today YouTube is also a place for marketers .

Over 1 billion hours of video are watched on YouTube daily — that'south more than Netflix and Facebook video combined.

1 billion hours of YouTube video daily

Only, hither's the kicker… 62 percentage of businesses use Youtube as a aqueduct to post video content — which is crazy!

C razy-awesome for you that is — because when used effectively, YouTube is an extremely powerful business tool. But in guild to boost your sales , you've got to become more gratuitous YouTube views.

In this article, yous'll learn eighteen ways to get more views on YouTube, build your brand, and boost your sales .

Simply first, let's talk quickly about how to make a video on YouTube.

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Post Contents

  • How to Make a Video on YouTube
  • How to Go More Views on YouTube
    • i. Create Compelling Content
    • ii. Encourage Viewers to Subscribe
    • three. Create Playlists to Keep People Watching
    • iv. Promote Other Videos with Stop Screens and Cards
    • five. Add together a Watermark to Your Videos
    • vi. Make Certain Your Videos Are Embedding Enabled
    • seven. Promote Your Videos on Other Social Channels
    • eight. Understand the Importance of 'Watch Time'
    • 9. Nurture a Community
    • x. Optimize Your Video Titles
    • 11. Optimize Your Channel
    • 12. Create a YouTube Trailer Featuring Your Best Content
    • thirteen. Create Compelling Thumbnail Images
    • 14. Transcribe Your Videos
    • xv. Publish Your Videos at The Best Time
    • 16. Invite Guest Vloggers
    • 17. Build an Influencer Customs
    • 18. Know What's Viral
  • Your Turn
  • Want to Learn More than?

How to Make a Video on YouTube

  • Plan Your Video

Earlier you offset making a video for YouTube you demand to plan what you want to produce. Generate a storyboard outlining each scene or department of the video. Think nearly the messaging you want to portray to your audience and plan where in the video you lot will include calls-to-activity . This is of import as you lot need people to want to do something after watching the video.

  • Write Your Script

Based on your video plan, brainstorm writing your video script. Try to proceed the language relatable and appealing to your audience. If your video is a beginners guide, don't utilize too many technical terms. If you are making an in-depth YouTube video, brand certain to include terms that are specific to the industry to build trust with your viewers. Don't create a long script if your storyboard is short as it volition mean a lot of lingering on screens that will non make for a good viewing feel.

  • Create a Shot List

Having a shot list volition encourage you to think almost the smaller details, like lightning direction and camera placement. Make sure to create one once you're done writing your script. It should include all of the things that help give a sense of direction to your product, such as the camera setup or action/dialogue each scene requires.

  • Organize Your Scene

Will your video exist animated, live-activeness, or real-fourth dimension? What kind of props will you need when making your video and then that your YouTube followers will stay engaged during your whole video? These questions are important to answer equally they will help make your video look more professional. Invest in branding to add to the background of your videos and thumbnails so that your video looks elevation quality .

  • Prepare Yourself

If you are starring in the video, or just directing information technology, it is important to prepare and practice and then that the existent affair will get off without a hitch. The devil is in the detail when it comes to making a YouTube video, so practicing volition business relationship for all the things that could go wrong when shooting.

  • Edit Your Video

After doing a few takes of each scene the magic starts – y'all can outset editing your video to omit small mistakes or elements of scenes that don't fit. Accept the time here to enquire whether each line sounds natural, and delete lines that don't fit into the overall video.

  • Upload YouTube Video

Inside the YouTube platform, you lot can upload your video, including a title, tags, and a description for your audition . These things volition aid your audition to notice your video through. If you are planning to create more one video on a particular topic, you can create a playlist and add information technology to this. Recall near calculation cards and captions to your video to help users navigate more finer around your channel.

  • [Additional Tip] Get Live

One time y'all accept enough experience creating videos, why not try going live and talking to your audience in real-time. Respond questions from your audience in the moment and give your viewers the ultimate viewing experience.

How to Go More Views on YouTube

Now allow's jump straight into the specifics of getting more views on YouTube.

1. Create Compelling Content

It won't matter how many hacks or ads yous employ if your videos aren't good. And then how can you create compelling content that will go more than views on YouTube? Well, one of the all-time ways is to create 'how to' videos :

How-to Videos

Simply identify what your ideal customers most want to know, then create videos that meet their needs. Does this piece of work? You bet. YouTube creator Graham Cochrane racked upwardly 51 meg YouTube views by focusing on how-to content.

How-to YouTube Videos

Cochrane finds video ideas in the comments of his social channels. If that doesn't work, he asks his community what they'd like him to make videos about.

Unproblematic, right?

Cochrane said , "An amazing thing happens when you ask people what they need and want, so you go and make it for them — they think you read their mind!" Bottom-line: Consistently create content that solves your ideal customer'south problems or meets their needs. It'due south the way to develop a loyal customs of fans and become more views on YouTube.

two. Encourage Viewers to Subscribe

Have you lot ever heard the saying, "Your best new customers are your old customers"? In other words, retaining customers can be a powerful fashion to abound your business. Well, the same holds true for YouTube views.

Which is why one of the easiest means to get more views on YouTube is to encourage your current viewers to subscribe considering gaining subscribers volition increment the number of views on each new video that you release. How do you get viewers to subscribe?

The best way is merely to inquire at the beginning and end of each video!

YouTube Subscribe to Channel

But don't just enquire viewers to subscribe to your YouTube aqueduct. Make sure that y'all as well prompt them to plow on the notification bell afterward they've clicked 'Subscribe.'

YouTube Notification Bell

This way, one time a viewer subscribes, they'll be notified every time you lot upload a new video. Growing your subscribers is vital to getting more than free YouTube views, so kickoff request your viewers to subscribe at present!

3. Create Playlists to Keep People Watching

YouTube'southward own statistics show that "top-performing brands on YouTube build and promote twice as many playlists as the lesser 25%."

YouTube Playlists

Why do playlists work and then well? Auto-play. It takes endeavour to pull your attention away from videos you're enjoying when they just go along playing. In fact, there's a cognitive bias at piece of work called 'loss aversion.'

Loss aversion states that the pain of losing something is twice as bad as the pleasure received from gaining something equivalent. For example, loss disfavor suggests that people volition piece of work twice as difficult to go on $100, every bit they volition gain $100. Auto-play uses loss aversion to reframe the situation.

The question is no longer, "Practise you want to watch some other video plenty to actively click play?" Now, the question is, "Practise you want to stop watching enough to actively click away?". It'south subtle but powerful, and if your content is good, viewers will often keep watching. Likewise, playlists can help improve search rankings, as playlist titles are another opportunity to target keywords.

The easiest way to create a YouTube playlist is to navigate to each video you'd similar to add and click the '+' icon underneath the video.

Add YouTube Video to Playlist

And then you tin create a new playlist or add together it to an existing playlist. To get more views on YouTube, create a playlist of your best content and start promoting information technology today!

4. Promote Other Videos with Finish Screens and Cards

Cards and end screens are tools that you tin use to promote your videos to get more views on YouTube. First, you'll demand to verify your YouTube account to access these features. To do this, click on your profile picture in the height right, and so click 'Creator Studio'. Next, click on the 'Status and features' tab:

YouTube Creator Studio

On this page, you're able to view actress YouTube channel features and prepare them upward. Now let's accept a closer expect at end screens and cards.

An end screen is a dedicated frame that you can place at the stop of your videos to wrap things upwardly, and highlight calls-to-action.

Cards are a tool that you tin set up to pop-up anytime in the video. You can prepare these to direct people to another video or playlist, or you lot can create a poll bill of fare which is a great style to ask viewers what they'd like to see more of (remember tip number 1?).

To add together end screens and cards to your videos, go to the Creator Studio and click 'Video Manager,' and then click 'Videos.' Notice the video that you want to add the end screen card to and click 'Edit.' Once you lot're on the video editor page, you lot tin add together end screens and cards by clicking the carte du jour items at the meridian of the page:

Add YouTube End Screen and Cards

End screens and cards are powerful tools, so brand sure yous employ them to nowadays calls-to-activeness in your YouTube videos.

5. Add a Watermark to Your Videos

Watermarks allow you to gain more than subscribers and free YouTube views past promoting your channel across all of your videos. Essentially, a watermark is just an image that y'all can set up to announced on all of your videos — most brands apply their logo. When a viewer hovers their mouse over a watermark, it prompts them to subscribe. Which is why the Shopify YouTube aqueduct has chosen a watermark maxim 'subscribe':

YouTube Watermark

Once more, you need to verify your YouTube account to be able to upload a watermark. Information technology'southward worth pointing out that you can't option and cull which videos brandish watermarks and which don't — they either announced on all of your videos or none of them.

To add together a watermark to your videos caput to the Creator Studio and click 'Branding.'

Add YouTube Watermark

Then click 'Add a Watermark' and upload your paradigm.

In summary, use this simple tool to promote your brand on your YouTube aqueduct.

Tip: Design a watermark that is foursquare, transparent, and above l×fifty pixels. As YouTube shrinks downwardly watermarks when displaying them in the corner of the videos, creating a larger one volition help ensure your branding is visible to your target audition .

6. Make Certain Your Videos Are Embedding Enabled

Y'all've spent ages creating an awesome video and now your viewers want to share it on their websites and blogs!

…merely they tin't. Because y'all forgot to enable embedding.

* Gulp*

Allowing viewers to embed your video on their websites and blogs is an effective way for your brand to attain new audiences and become more than views on YouTube. If a video has embedding enabled, when a viewer clicks 'Share' underneath the video window, YouTube will prove them the 'Embed' pick:

YouTube Video Embed

One time they click on this, they'll be able to copy the video'due south embedding code and paste information technology onto their blog or website.

YouTube Video Embed Code

To enable embedding, head to the Creator Studio and navigate to the video'due south edit page.

Then click 'Advanced Settings' and whorl downward to the "Distribution options" and make certain the "Allow Embedding" is ticked:

Allow YouTube Video Embedding

Bottom-line: Make sure your videos have embedding enabled to encourage viewers to share your content.

If you lot accept followers on other social channels, let them know each time you upload a new video to YouTube. A good way to do this is with a short teaser video. For instance, y'all tin create a minute-long teaser for a new YouTube video, and then mail service it on your Facebook page with a link to the full video on your YouTube channel .

To brand things easier, try using a social media scheduling tool similar Hootsuite or Buffer . But don't but stick to social channels. You tin also embed your YouTube videos in relevant weblog posts and pages on your website.

And don't forget about email marketing . With an industry average open charge per unit of xviii percent and a purchase rate of 66 percent, email marketing is a powerhouse when it comes to sales conversions. Information technology doesn't need to be too complicated either.

(Psst! If yous haven't already, make certain to subscribe to our newsletter to larn more than virtually how to build your online business.)

YouTube isn't a standalone social channel, so brand sure to cross-promote your videos through your free marketing channels .

eight. Empathise the Importance of 'Sentinel Time'

YouTube describes their algorithm every bit a " search and discovery system ."  This algorithm determines which videos are shown:

  • On the homepage
  • As suggested videos
  • In search results
  • Under the Subscriptions tab
  • Through notifications that viewers accept created

What's more than, the algorithm doesn't just touch individual videos, but unabridged YouTube channels. YouTube's algorithm is complex, just the most of import thing to understand is that it's heavily based on 'Watch Time.' In fact, according to YouTube , "Each video uploaded — equally well as every channel on YouTube — is 'ranked' by lookout man fourth dimension."

Watch Time is how much time people spend actually watching your videos:

YouTube Watch Time

Bottom-line: YouTube rewards quality. The better your videos are, the more time people spend watching them. This will increment your Watch Fourth dimension minutes and and then YouTube will favor your videos and channel.

1 more than affair: Your YouTube channel can likewise earn 'watch time credits' for referring viewers to other videos. It'due south basically like chapter marketing .

In summary: Focus on retaining viewers for as long as you can, and don't be afraid of promoting other YouTube channels in your niche!

YouTube isn't just a video search engine. It's also a social network. So to get more views on YouTube, you need to use it like other social networks. In other words, it isn't enough to just regularly share videos, you lot likewise need to actively engage your audience.

How? The best style is to simply respond to comments — especially if someone asks a direct question. Because other viewers volition be more likely to comment themselves if they know they'll receive a response. Information technology only takes a second, and y'all tin do it while you're browsing your comments for new video ideas (remember tip number one?).

Besides that, attempt to be an active member of your niche community. Subscribe to other channels in your niche, get out comments on their videos, and share any that your own audience might enjoy. In other words, give before y'all get.

If you engage generously and authentically, viewers will notice and it will be much easier to establish your brand in a niche of passionate fans. And call back, promoting other videos will score y'all Watch Time credits, which will assistance to heave your aqueduct in YouTube'due south algorithm. Lastly, y'all tin can besides involve viewers directly.

One of the easiest ways to do this is to concord a contest or prize draw. For example, you lot could ask viewers to share your video on Facebook and leave a annotate to be entered into a draw to win ane of your products. Growing a loyal, agile community is a surefire manner to get more views on YouTube.

10. Optimize Your Video Titles

YouTube is a search engine. Which means search engine optimization (SEO) matters.

YouTube'south algorithm takes multiple items into account when selecting videos for search results. And the platform provides a number of opportunities to optimize your channel and videos — including video file names, titles, descriptions, and tags.

So include every bit much information as possible. Crucially, you need to know which keywords yous want your videos and channel to rank for.

Keywords in YouTube Video Titles

YouTuber Graham Cochrane discovers relevant keywords past typing potential keywords into the search bar to see what appears in the autocomplete. You tin can also use free keyword tools like Google Trends and Google Ads Keyword Planner .

But beware… YouTube will penalize you for including keywords that aren't relevant to your video. Too keep your titles between 60-70 characters long . This gives you lot the most room to create a compelling title, while also ensuring that it won't be cut short in search results. Lastly, don't forget the humans!

Sure, you lot need to use keywords to assist your videos rank in search results, only to get more complimentary YouTube views, yous besides need your video titles and descriptions to appeal to viewers. In general, aim for a residuum between accurate, informative, and attention-grabbing.

Every bit the famed copywriter David Ogilvy one time wrote , "When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar." And then whatever you do, pay close attention to your video titles.

eleven. Optimize Your Channel

Optimizing your channel is vital to strengthening your brand and boosting your YouTube views. And YouTube provides plenty of ways to optimize your channel. Here's how Daniel Wellington has done it:

Daniel Wellington YouTube

Let's quickly run through some of the main components:

Create a potent, consistent brand aesthetic.

Ensure that your YouTube branding is consistent with your website and other social channels. This means using the same logo, images, and colors . Your profile film should be 800 x 800 pixels. Information technology should also however expect good when displayed smaller. Your banner fine art should be at to the lowest degree 2560 x 1440 pixels, and at that place's a template to aid y'all design your banner art in YouTube's Creator University .

Optimize your YouTube aqueduct description.

This is shown on your channel'due south 'Well-nigh' tab. Y'all only become 1,000 characters, so make 'em count. What should you write in your YouTube channel clarification? Well, starting time with a quick description of your brand and the benefits of your products.

Then tell viewers why they should lookout your YouTube videos. Are you teaching them something? Or is your aqueduct generally well-nigh entertainment? Bottom-line: Tell viewers what's in it for them. Just like your individual video titles, make sure that you include your targeted keywords in your YouTube aqueduct description.

Add your social channels, links to your website, and a style to go far contact.

In other words, make it easy for viewers to find out more nigh your brand.

Add together aqueduct keywords.

Once you lot've researched and decided on the keywords yous want your channel to rank for in the search results, click "Channel," and then "Advanced." Then simply input your keywords into the box titled "Channel Keywords."

YouTube Channel Keywords

Lastly, enable related channels.

"One of the biggest mistakes I meet business channels make is that they turn off the 'related channels' feature on YouTube," said Syed Balkhi , the founder of List25 (which has over 2.3 million subscribers and 582 million views).

Past turning it off, y'all remove your channel from YouTube'south recommendations. As a consequence, you'll lose the network consequence that makes YouTube such a powerful tool.

In summary, make certain that you lot optimize your YouTube channel and that all of your information is complete.

12. Create a YouTube Trailer Featuring Your Best Content

Your YouTube trailer is a curt video that's shown to new visitors on your channel. It's a fantastic opportunity to:

  • Show viewers what kind of content you lot create,
  • Highlight the benefits your channel provides,
  • And, encourage them to subscribe.

There are no specific rules effectually the trailer's maximum length, but most YouTubers go on it between 25-30 seconds.

What makes a fantastic YouTube trailer? A nice short video that conveys your story, ambitions, and vision. And then, when thinking of ideas for your trailer, inquire yourself, "What'south my groundwork"? "What do I hope to achieve"? "What compelled me to create a YouTube channel"?

Keep the virtually interesting things you have to say reserved for the starting time few seconds, but sprinkle your personality throughout the trailer, like international series entrepreneur Peter Sage did:

To create your trailer, go to your channel homepage and click "Customise Channel." This will redirect you to a page where you can upload your trailer's footage. Once done, write a description, enter your SEO tags, and click "Publish."

how to create a YouTube trailer

After publishing, caput back to your aqueduct homepage and click the Customise Channel button again. The trailer should now be nowadays in your video library. Fix it as your YouTube trailer by clicking the "For New Visitors" tab.

And that'south information technology. Your channel trailer is ready to brand an impact. Permit it do the legwork of impressing whoever decides to cheque out your channel.

13. Create Compelling Thumbnail Images

A thumbnail is a video's preview image. This picayune image is extremely important if you want to get more free YouTube views. When yous upload a video, you can choose one of the auto-generated thumbnail images.

Don't. Instead, create and upload your ain custom thumbnail image. YouTube reports that ninety percentage of the top-performing videos on YouTube use them — and for skilful reason.

YouTube Custom Thumbnails

(If you haven't yet, you lot need to verify your YouTube account to access this characteristic.)

An effective thumbnail image can help your videos stand out.

YouTube Video Thumbnails

YouTube says , "Thumbnails crave an fine art director'south middle for branding, and shouldn't exist an reconsideration." In fact, they recommend that y'all think about your thumbnail before you showtime filming. That fashion, you can make sure you capture the footage needed to create a compelling thumbnail paradigm. A good thumbnail is one that is eye-communicable, compelling, congruent with your make, and accurately represents the video'south content.

In general, try to include:

  • Brightly colored backgrounds
  • Close-ups of faces
  • Text overlays
  • Subtle branding — like a small logo or watermark

Okay, what about the technicalities? Your thumbnail should:

  • Employ a 16:9 attribute ratio, as this is the most used aspect ratio in YouTube players
  • Take a resolution of 1280×720
  • Accept a file-size of less than 2MB
  • Be formatted as a .JPG, .GIF, .BMP, or .PNG

Yous can too use a free prototype editing and graphic design tool like Canva to create your thumbnails. Remember, thumbnails are 1 of the best ways to catch the attention of people browsing YouTube, and so make sure that yours are effective and compelling.

To learn more than about the perfect YouTube thumbnail size and best practices, check out our guide here.

14. Transcribe Your Videos

Creating videos is great, but sometimes your audience will need a transcription due to language constraints or inability. YouTube allows for closed captions where a transcript is added as subtitles to a video. Viewers can toggle these subtitles on and off at will. If you plan on opening your videos to an international market, transcriptions can be a great idea. Translating scripts are useful for helping those with other linguistic communication abilities to understand your videos improve.

How do y'all create a transcription certificate for upload to YouTube? It is quite uncomplicated really. Y'all create a SubRip Subtitle file, SRT for short, which includes the get-go and stop times next to the text.

SRT Subtitle File

This can and then be saved as a file with timings included so that text displays at the correct fourth dimension in the video.

SubRip Subtitle File

In one case uploaded to YouTube, or any other video platform, double cheque your timings are right and viola, y'all've got yourself a closed caption video.

Upload YouTube Subtitle File

15. Publish Your Videos at The Best Time

The best time is when your target visitors are watching your videos. Fortunately, this is no longer a mystery as YouTube tracks the hours and days when your audition is on YouTube. You tin dig into your "When your viewers are on YouTube" report to identify peak times and publish content in an hour or two earlier those peaks. Publishing before will give your audience a chance to discover your new videos, resulting in more free views.

To admission the report, go to your channel homepage, click Customize Channel, select Analytics from the left-paw tab below your channel profile picture, and click the Audition tab. You lot should now run into the selection to generate a "When your viewers are on YouTube" report. If you don't take enough daily views to generate this report, so you lot can try publishing in the hours we've mentioned in our post The Best Fourth dimension to Post on Social Media in 2021 .

16. Invite Guest Vloggers

Guest blogging is a cracking way to gain new followers and viewers. Identifying influencers who have a similar audience to yours volition open your channel up to potential viewers who have the same interests as y'all. Building a close relationship with these influencers after creating a video with them will mean that they will share your videos with their followers if you do the same for them. This reciprocity is a surefire way to gain free new views on YouTube.

Guest Vloggers are smashing non simply for free means to go more views but also to add together more than diverseness to your videos. Having some other person to brainstorm video ideas with can open the door to creative videography which volition, in turn, create more than views on your YouTube aqueduct.

Digital marketer and author Jordan Platten ofttimes records videos with influencers:

guest invite free YouTube videos

For sure, it's not only his audition tuning in and sharing these videos, but the influencer'south too.

Following on from invitee vloggers, building a strong influencer community that shares community content and works together to help everyone involved is a peachy style to get more views on your YouTube aqueduct. Being an influencer tin can be very solitary and competitive. Reaching out to influencers similar to yourself to share noesis and information tin help to build a community of influencers that look afterwards each other and aid people who are struggling.

Identifying like influencers through tools like Unamo or Buzzsumo and reaching out to them volition outset the ball rolling just be sure to have a goal and compelling reason to maintain contact so that it is a reciprocal relationship and non one-sided.

18. Know What'due south Viral

Keeping up to date with things happening in your industry tin be the divergence betwixt becoming popular or sinking into the background. Those with a deep agreement of what is happening in their world can create videos that are current and interesting to those researching the niche. Only this knowledge of your industry too helps you identify viral content as it happens so y'all can share it with your following earlier anyone else. Being the first to share data will identify you as a leader in your field, leading to more exposure to your content and more views.

FAQ near getting views on Youtube

What counts every bit a view on YouTube?

A view counts on YouTube when a user intentionally plays a video and watches it for at least thirty seconds. Repeat views also stand to a certain point (around 4-v views), afterwards which YouTube stops counting repeated playback from the user'southward account or device.

Where is the all-time place to share YouTube videos?

At that place's no one best place to share your videos, equally you can get a bigger reach by distributing them on multiple platforms. Here are some websites where you lot can share or promote your YouTube videos:

  1. Reddit
  2. Facebook
  3. Instagram
  4. Twitter
  5. Pinterest
  6. LinkedIn
  7. Quora
  8. Medium
  9. Digg
  10. Personal website/blog
  11. Newsletter
  12. BoredPanda
  13. Niche forums
  14. Wimp
  15. Stumbleupon

How do I share a YouTube video from my mobile?

  1. Open the relevant YouTube video.
  2. Tap the "Share" icon and copy the video URL.
  3. Paste the URL on the platform where you desire to share the video.

If you lot cull to share the video on a specific platform, tap on that platform's name instead of copying the video URL. Then select the contact you lot wish to share the video with, and let YouTube handle the residue.

Your Turn

In that location you have information technology: 18 means to become more views on YouTube!

In summary: First, focus on creating great content that your target audience will love.

Then do your best to optimize your content and channel, and promote your content through other channels.

Lastly, become involved in your niche customs and nurture relationships with your viewers!

Which one of these tactics are y'all going to use start to get more YouTube views? Leave a comment below and let u.s.a. know!