Lydia Sweatt is a writer who loves balancing her article/blog time indoors with a healthy dose of nature. She bikes, hikes, and identifies edible plants along the way.

Lydia Sweatt

Close-up of a smiling woman with curly hair wearing a green sweater indoors

If you’re still working toward 1,000 YouTube subscribers, here’s some good news. Unlike creators with large audiences, you still have the freedom to try new things. You aren’t stuck in a niche where viewers expect hyperfocused videos. And you still have time to find your audience and learn how YouTube works.

Gaining 1,000 subscribers is still the dream.

 Once you meet that goal, you’re one step closer to applying to the 

The Easiest Way to Get 1,000 Subscribers on YouTube

, we chat with Alan Spicer, YouTube consultant and blogger, about gaining 1,000 subscribers and beyond. His YouTube growth channel, 

, has 34,000 subscribers. He also has thousands of subscribers on other YouTube channels, and books clients on his website, 

Spicer reviews lots of channels and has noticed a pattern with successful creators. Typically, channels with over 1,000 subscribers have three things in common.

1. The Content Is Hyperfocused and Entertaining

. The first option is making focused content that caters to one audience. But if you don’t know what your niche should be, you can explore different topics to see what gets more views. Be warned, though: The results for this option are unpredictable. You’re letting the numbers decide what your niche should be, even if you aren’t passionate about the topic. That’s why we recommend option one – finding a topic you love and sticking to it.

Is your YouTube niche worth pursuing? Ask yourself three questions to find out:

Are video ideas coming to me effortlessly?

If your answer to all three questions is “yes,” you have a niche worth exploring. Whether that’s cooking, baseball highlights, makeup, or something else, embrace your newfound topic!

 is the fastest way to get 1,000 subscribers on YouTube. The deeper you dive into a subject, the better your chances of attracting like-minded viewers. If you’re a 

, for example, viewers will subscribe to watch hundreds of gaming tutorials.

Making how-to content is a sure-fire way to stand out on YouTube. 

 Spicer sees this formula all the time as a YouTube consultant – and it works.

“You can still be educational and funny,” Spicer says. “[A fencing company] was making content about ‘how to’ this and ‘how to’ that, which was great. But then they made a video that was all about a specific building material…. It’s a nice time-lapse thing, and it’s entertaining. But it still was within their focus of them telling us how to put up that fence and the specific materials you need to use.”

Of course, the video went viral. The fencing company got views from their audience and people who enjoyed the time-lapse video.

2. The Creator Is an Expert – or Passionate About Becoming One

 to reach 1,000 YouTube subscribers? During that time, they post dozens of videos, if not hundreds.

That’s why passion is invaluable on YouTube. If you aren’t excited about your niche, it’s hard to keep going with little to no views and subscribers. Chances are, you will lose motivation.

7 Beliefs You Need to Have to Grow a YouTube Channel

There is one solution, though. You can always 

share your expertise, professional or otherwise, on YouTube.

 That gives you a topic to explore for several years. You can teach viewers an array of skills, from investing to painting to cell phone repair.

Starting a YouTube Career - 7 Steps to Monetize Your Passion

“I’ve done web development for five years prior [to YouTube],” Spicer says. “I understand search engine optimization, and now I’m SEO-certified. If I can teach those things, people then know I’m a Netflix of answers for that specific field.” 

3. The Channel Creates Long-Term Value for Viewers

Want to gain lots of subscribers quickly? Here’s the ultimate rule for succeeding on YouTube:

Create value for your viewers, and never stop giving it to them.

This rule applies to all creators, regardless of your YouTube niche. If you want viewers to subscribe to your channel, you have to give them a reason to stay.

3 Steps to Create Valuable, Highly-Watched Videos

“Whatever your goal happens to be, that’s perfectly fine," Spicer says. "But as long as you deliver the message and value to the audience first, they will keep coming back. If I’m being selfish, telling you what I want from you, taking from you, why would you want to come back to me?”

Gary Vaynerchuk, internet personality and super entrepreneur, is a great example. He succeeds on YouTube because he gives so much information away for free. 

 about entrepreneurship and personal branding help millions of subscribers achieve their goals. Plus, his advice creates long-term value. People will continue to start new businesses and tweak their personal brands for the job market.

 doesn’t mean you’ll become rich on YouTube. But it helps you make some money and grow your audience through the YouTube Partner Program. If you haven’t earned 4,000 hours of Watch Time yet – the other YPP requirement – 

Tube Talk logo with a smiling man outdoors near a river, promoting video podcast content.

YouTube channels with more than 1,000 subscribers have 3 things in common. Read this post to discover what they are and grow your audience faster.

What YouTube Channels with Over 1,000 Subscribers Have In Common

Starting a Minecraft channel in 2026 requires a combination of strategy, creativity, and an understanding of the platform’s evolving landscape. Luckily the game remains a cultural phenomenon, still offering opportunities for creativity if you have the right Minecraft video ideas. Here’s your step-by-step guide to building a thriving Minecraft channel this year.

Why It's Not Too Late to Create a Minecraft Channel on YouTube

, we chat with one of the most successful Minecraft creators, 

.  Farzy has more than 2 million subscribers and is the perfect guest to share with us how to start a minecraft YouTube channel.

1. Create a Niche Within a Niche for Your Minecraft Channel

If you follow our YouTube advice, you’ve heard this tip before. Succeeding on the platform is almost impossible without focused content, so 

 For Minecraft content creators, it’s not as simple as saying, “Because I only play one game on YouTube, my channel has a strong focus.” You have to dig deeper and get 

 specific to stand out as a Minecraft creator.

“There are a lot of segments in the Minecraft community,” Farzy says. “There are people doing SMPs, which is survival multiplayer. There are people doing redstone videos. So I’m not just doing all of Minecraft on YouTube. I took an exact slice of that game, and in there, it’s me being the entertaining let’s play content slash tutorial content.”

Want to know how to make a Minecraft YouTube channel? Choose one thing to focus on within the game: build challenges, speedrunning, new worlds, or anything you want. Then make your titles and thumbnails reflect those parts of the Minecraft universe.

2. Pay Attention to Which Videos Get the Most Views, and Make Similar Content

Imagine logging into YouTube to find one of your Minecraft videos 

. What would you do after seeing something like that? If your answer is “

investigate the cause and make similar content

,” that’s the right thing to do. More than anything, measuring the success of popular videos and repeating what works is a reliable way to grow your Minecraft channel.

After all, that’s what Farzy did. It didn’t seem to matter if the videos were weeks old or published years ago. 

 was recommending his content to viewers, and he decided to capitalize on that.

“I had a big spurt of views from normal traffic sources – lots of them,” Farzy says. “What I did from there is I just tried to double down on that content. So making more engaging tutorials. Making let’s play content that has an inherent value…. And the growth has just skyrocketed.”

3. Strike a Balance Between Minecraft Let’s Plays and Tutorials

Is it wise to upload Minecraft tutorials and let’s play videos on the same channel? According to Farzy, it depends on how you balance the content. When you first start a Minecraft channel, tutorials that are 

 help you stand out. By answering questions people have about the game or showing them how to overcome different challenges, you can certainly get more views. Use 

 to help you see what is popular and being searched for.

It’s the opposite with let’s play content. This section of “Minecraft YouTube” is saturated and less prevalent than it used to be. Nowadays, top creators with thousands of subscribers dominate the niche.

 create let’s play videos. You just have to be smart about it. 

In 2021, posting a 40-minute, unedited let’s play isn’t the best approach as a new creator

. And having those let’s plays and tutorials on the same channel is even more chaotic.

So what’s the solution? For Farzy, injecting as much value into every let’s play while still creating tutorials solved the problem.

“Now I’ve learned to hedge what’s not working in my favor,” Farzy says. “One example is how the classic let’s play style isn’t working. It’s very niche, and it’s not a trending topic anymore. So what I’ve done, and what other people have done as well, is within your let’s play content, try and answer a question. You can try and dig into another niche within your let’s play."

Creating a 20-minute let’s play, where the first five minutes is a valuable tutorial

Using the other 15 minutes to entertain people while exploring the game

Check out the video below from Farzy. This survival let's play is the perfect example of instructing in the first half and having fun in the second.

Farzy says he’s attracting new viewers (and quickly) after adopting this content style. If you’re going to create let’s plays, give his strategy a try.

4. Be Strategic With Your Minecraft Thumbnails

Put yourself in the shoes of a new viewer. If they aren’t familiar with Minecraft just yet, is it easy to understand what’s happening on your channel? Can viewers tell which videos are let’s plays or Minecraft tutorials?

If not, it’s time to get strategic with your thumbnails.

10 Reasons Why Some Custom Thumbnails Work and Others Don't

“A lot of new creators look at their favorite YouTubers and their thumbnails, which usually show their brand – their face making some shocked expression with little to do with the game," Farzy says. "They look at that and say, ‘OK, I’ll do that too because they have all these views.’ But really, if you’re not well-known, you need to showcase what the video is about. Nobody cares who you are yet.”

Here’s Farzy’s strategy for making Minecraft thumbnails:

For let’s play content, he shows his face in the thumbnail. But the image has text that reads, “survival series.” It’s his way of saying, “This is a let’s play video.”

He keeps his face out of the thumbnail for tutorials, so viewers know they’re getting a tutorial.

Not every viewer knows what your channel is about. Be sure to help new viewers understand who you are and what you do on YouTube.

If you’d like an easy way to create compelling thumbnails, try 

vidIQ’s thumbnail templates for Minecraft

It takes time to grow on YouTube. Whether you’re starting a Minecraft channel or a channel that tracks hummingbirds in the wild, it's the same slow grind. You need lots of patience and fortitude to get more views and subscribers consistently.

“My viewers will ask me, ‘Farzi, how did you grow your channel so fast?’.... But you’re not going to grow in a couple of weeks unless you’re some crazy channel. You need to understand that and say, ‘I’m going to put my head down, I’m going to work at this, I’m going to get better, and I’m going to do my research. If you don’t have that patience and understanding, you’re going to get frustrated.”

Take a deep breath, upload consistently, and don’t give up. Eventually, you’ll reach your goal of starting and growing a Minecraft channel.

Smiling young man with colorful background next to Tube Talk logo for video content.

Starting a Minecraft channel in 2026 is still worth the effort. After all, Minecraft creator Nick Farzy gained 33 million views in five years. Could you be next?

How to Start a Minecraft YouTube Channel

Most YouTube creators dream of getting a brand deal – and for good reason. Instead of depending on 

, they get to diversify their income and make more money.

The best way to get a brand deal, ironically, is to become a brand yourself.

 Having a YouTube channel is great, but taking the steps to create a business gives your content a different identity. For example, it’s one thing to post videos about how to emigrate from the U.S. to Mexico. It is another thing entirely to sell courses, consultations, and e-books about how to make the switch. That’s a step above content creation. When your empire is 

 fleshed out, brands have more information about how and why they should partner with you.

Making Money on YouTube - 7 Tips to Start a Successful Business

In this episode of TubeTalk, we chat with Mike Bienstock about what it takes to get and keep a brand deal on YouTube. Bienstock is the chief executive at 

, which helps creators get products into stores, negotiate brand deals, and more.

In addition to treating yourself like a brand, here's how to get (and keep) YouTube brand deals.

“a partnership between creators and brands and is sometimes referred to as a brand sponsorship.”

 That definition comes from a Creator Academy 

. Most partnerships are simple: You create a piece of content that features a product, and the brand pays you for your work.

You don’t need millions of subscribers to partner with a brand. Oftentimes, you just need a focused niche, high-quality content, and a good pitch.

It’s Easier to Get a Brand Deal When You’re Serious About YouTube

Before striking a deal with a creator, Bienstock gauges their 

 So if you’re interested in getting brand deals, go all-in. Be consistent with your video uploads, create awesome thumbnails, and write the best titles you can. Let your passion spill over into everything you create so brands know you’re here to stay.

Having lots of views and subscribers helps too. But Bienstock says there are more important factors.

“It’s more about attitude and dedication than any particular metrics because the metrics can grow and expand over time,” Bienstock says. “The creator’s attitude of how they are treating it is usually pretty [ingrained].”

You Need to Love The Product/Service You’re Promoting

You can’t fake passion on YouTube. If you’re a creator who appears on camera, think of how long people have studied your mannerisms. By now, they know when you’re being genuine or if something seems off. That’s why you can’t say yes to any brand deal. People will know when you’re promoting something just for the money.

“Creators and their audiences, that relationship is very transparent,” Bienstock says. “We’ve learned this way back in the early days: If the creator isn’t really excited or passionate about the project or what’s happening, the audience can tell…. We need to figure out something that’s going to fire up the creator because the audience is going to sense how true that is.”

Before agreeing to do anything, make sure that…

The product or service is something you believe in and aligns with your channel

Your audience will benefit from using the product or service

You are excited and passionate about promoting the brand

Brands Will Reject Your Pitch, and That’s OK

Everyone faces rejection when they’re trying to get a brand deal. Yes, – even the talented negotiators at Semaphore. The company is super successful, and yet, not every brand is willing to work with the creators they represent.

“We get told no a lot, and we get told, ‘What you're proposing is impossible,’” Bienstock says. “Now it makes me laugh because people tell me things are impossible, and 12 months later, we’re working on a national launch tied to something they swore was impossible.”

If a major company can fail like this and still keep going, so can you! Don’t feel too bad about getting rejection emails, or even worse, no response. It’s just one brand. There are more opportunities out there if you’re willing to look.

Brand Deals Create More Work, But You Can Handle It

It’s true. Brand deals are more work than what you would do on your own. When you’re simply creating videos, you get to make a plan and execute a few ideas – nothing more and nothing less. With a brand deal, you might be tasked with making three sponsored videos a month, in addition to regular content. Then there’s the pressure to make quality videos that perform well for your channel 

It’s challenging because you have more responsibility. But just think: If you made it this far, it’s because you have the work ethic to create at a high level. That’s a trait you can tap into when things get rough.

“[Successful creators] are very true to their roots of being a new influencer,” Bienstock says. “They remember those all-nighters where they couldn’t even afford an editor. They had to do the editing. And the mic didn’t work. And they’re re-filming their videos. So I don’t believe they change. Because everything they’ve done to get to that place is thinking about their emotional connection to their audience.”

Partnering With a Brand Doesn’t Make You a Sell-Out

Repeat after me: Promoting a brand on your YouTube channel 

 make you a sell-out. It’s 2021, and viewers love to see it. A few years ago, promoting a brand could alienate your audience and even cause jealousy or disgust. It’s the opposite today. People are simply happy their favorite creator is being recognized and compensated. They leave comments expressing how proud they are, and how just a few years ago, that creator had 100 subscribers instead of millions.

Need another reason to pursue a partnership? Here’s one of the best: 

 Creating and posting YouTube videos is hard work. A brand deal helps you support yourself.

7 Steps to Build Multiple Income Streams on YouTube

“Listen, if you cannot pay your rent or your car expense or buy a camera, you have no content to create for the world,” Bienstock says. “You’re going to need to get a job somewhere, and you’re going to have zero time to create. So we need to be realistic and transparent about the fact that you’re filming and buying props. They don’t just get given to you. You’re going on Amazon and buying these things.”

Are you ready to get a brand deal as a small creator? Check out 

Man smiling outdoors wearing Semaphore social reach t-shirt beside Tube Talk logo graphic

You don't need millions of YouTube subscribers to get a brand deal. It's all about having the right attitude and a bit of persistence to close the deal. 

The Truth About Getting a Brand Deal on YouTube

Are viewers watching your YouTube videos to completion? Is your audience retention so high that 70% of people are still watching after the first 30 seconds?

If not, you have an opportunity to improve the "stickiness" of your videos. This is a special kind of video magic that stops people from clicking away. Creating sticky videos is about identifying what’s working (or not) to keep viewers engaged.

This simple act will help you flourish on YouTube. The algorithm loves to 

YouTube Watch Time - The Secret Sauce to More YouTube Views and Subscribers

The first step is understanding how audience retention works. Keep reading to discover this metric on your own channel, plus six simple ways to keep people watching.

 shows how many viewers are watching a video throughout the beginning, middle, end, or altogether. The "altogether" rate is shown as a percentage of total views. So for example, if you post a 12-minute video, and people watch for eight minutes on average, your audience retention rate is 66%.

In the YouTube Studio, you’ll see different moments within a video that affect your audience retention, such as:

 where viewers re-watched or skipped certain parts

 where viewers skipped a section or left the video completely

These moments highlight where viewers are losing or gaining interest during a video.

Take a look at the image below from YouTube’s 

 to see what each moment looks like on an audience retention graph.

 is a key retention metric. It’s an estimate of how many minutes viewers watched a video, on average. Increasing this number, as well as other retention metrics, can boost your views on YouTube.

“YouTube’s search and discovery system loves videos that people have found satisfying, and a great way it determines that is audience retention,” creator liaison Matt Koval said in a Creator Insider 

How to See Your Channel’s Audience Retention

Want to see if your videos are truly engaging? Follow the steps below to find out.

 (click your profile image and select YouTube Studio).

Select the video you want to analyze. Choose from the list of videos shown or use the search bar to find a specific video.

Scroll down to the bottom of the page. You’ll see a graph showing the video’s average view duration and average percentage viewed.

This data is from a video of ours, titled “

YouTube’s Discovery Algorithm...Exposed

.” The audience retention graph shows that:

On average, viewers watched the video for 

, a new YouTube metric. It compares videos of similar length on your channel and tells you if the video you're analyzing is performing better or worse than previous content.

Audience retention varies widely. It can change depending on the length of your video, the topic, and the audience. For example, a gaming or education channel’s retention could be low because of 

Young children are intrigued by gaming videos, but they have short attention spans. An adult who watches a video about investing may skip certain parts to find one piece of information. There are many reasons people don’t finish a video, so take your niche, as well as audience behavior, into consideration.

What Is a Good Audience Retention Rate on YouTube?

First, know that there isn’t a golden percentage for audience retention. Viewers have different intentions for watching a video, which leads to shorter or longer Watch Time. That’s not a bad thing at all. It leaves you free to analyze your data and make adjustments without comparing yourself to others.

But if you need a benchmark, our YouTuber-in-residence Rob Wilson has a number in mind.

“If your video is longer than five minutes, and audience retention is above 50%, you’re probably doing a good job,” Wilson says. “If your video is longer than five minutes, and you’re getting audience retention above 70% in the first 30 seconds, then you’ve got your hook on the video and you’re doing a good job.”

Want his full opinion on audience retention (and another important metric)? Watch the video below to hear Wilson explain in more detail:

How to Increase Audience Retention on YouTube

With everything we’ve covered, here are some tips for increasing audience retention:

During the first 30 seconds, hundreds of people will click away from the video. But you can reduce that number by catching viewers’ attention early. Just think: What would intrigue them so much that clicking away is not an option?

 Some people think chapters encourage viewers to leave a video quickly, but that’s not always the case. For example, would you rather someone click away in the first 30 seconds or watch a three-minute chapter that answers their question? You get more Watch Time from the second option, especially if you’re making valuable content.

Give viewers a sneak peek of what’s coming.

 In your intro, tease the juiciest part of your video without giving away all the details.

Use pattern interrupters to keep viewers engaged. 

Create variety by adding graphics, music changes, lower-thirds, and different camera angles.

Make your videos as long (or as short) as they need to be.

If you can cover a topic in five minutes, end the video there. Lengthy segments that don’t add value will push viewers to click away, which hurts your audience retention. If the information will truly help and engage viewers, it’s OK to keep going.

Study your audience retention graphs in the YouTube Studio.

 Follow the directions in this post so you can check your audience retention for every video. As you investigate, pay attention to the percentage of viewers watching after the first 30 seconds. Is that number low? Maybe you need a better intro or a juicier sneak peek. Next, identify what’s happening in the rest of the video. Are there spikes where almost no viewers clicked away? Replay those portions and try to understand what made people stick around. Keep doing what’s working, and experiment with new pattern interrupters when your audience retention starts to dip.

Boosting your audience retention is smart, but there’s one step to conquer before that.

You need viewers to see your thumbnails and click them to start watching your content. Here are six solid tips to improve your click-through rate every single time.

Young woman with headphones using smartphone outdoors, casual urban setting background

Want to boost your YouTube audience retention? Here are six ways to improve that metric and keep viewers watching for longer.

How to Increase Audience Retention on Every YouTube Video

Every creator goes through a period of frustration on YouTube – a phase where their channel just isn’t growing. Popular videos start to underperform. Viewers aren’t subscribing. It’s confusing to the creator because they’re working hard to create vlogs, tutorials, and live streams. But for some reason, viewers aren’t interested.

Getting over this hump takes serious self-reflection. You have to separate yourself from your content and ask, 

5 Mistakes That Stop Your YouTube Channel From Growing

, a social media strategist and YouTube creator, has a hunch about why some creators fail. Before he crossed 79,000 subscribers, there was a time when his YouTube channel wasn’t growing.

“I think that moment was when I was making vlogs that took a ton of time,” Leavitt says. “I liked them, obviously, because they're my videos. But nobody else did.”

Most creators don’t succeed because of one, pesky oversight. Before you can obsess over thumbnails or video equipment, you need to create a value proposition.

Here's a glossary of everything you need to know:

Value Propositions: Why Every Creator Needs One

A value proposition is a promise you make to viewers. It’s a two-part descriptor that helps people understand the value they’ll receive by viewing your content.

What viewers gain by watching your videos

If your channel isn’t growing, it’s because you haven’t done the things above. You haven’t created content that delivers a clear benefit, whether that’s education, entertainment, or something in between. 

That’s the simple trick to getting more views.

 Until you address viewers’ needs, they’ll move on to a channel that satisfies those cravings.

It’s easy to create a value proposition when you have a clear goal. But what if you're unsure of the value you bring? How does one offer something useful while figuring out their content?

Don't worry. In three powerful steps, you can 

If you target every viewer, you’ll appeal to no one. Leavitt says successful creators know exactly who their videos are for.

“A lot of people will say, ‘Oh, you don't need a niche,’” Leavitt says. “But everybody that you see on YouTube, there was some unique reason as to why they were able to grow. And that is their niche. Even if it's an entertainment-based channel, then that's it – they're an entertainer.”

Some people have a skill or passion that can become a niche. Many creators teach those hobbies on YouTube, whether that’s skincare, personal finance, music, or another topic. 

Are your videos getting little to no views? Here’s a simple trick to boost the value of your YouTube channel.

Lydia Sweatt

Posts Written By Lydia Sweatt

What YouTube Channels with Over 1,000 Subscribers Have In Common

How to Start a Minecraft YouTube Channel

The Truth About Getting a Brand Deal on YouTube

How to Increase Audience Retention on Every YouTube Video

YouTube Success: 3 Steps to Create Valuable, Highly-Watched Videos

How to Double Your YouTube Watch Time by Looping Shorts

5 Mistakes That Stop Your YouTube Channel From Growing

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

YouTube Algorithm Guide: How Your Videos Are Recommended to Viewers

YouTube Community Tab: The Underrated Growth Tool You NEED to Use

YouTube Is Expanding Monetization for These 3 Video Types

How to See Your Real-Time YouTube Subscriber Count

‘Women of YouTube’ Q&A: Building Careers, Passive Income, and More