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.

Getting Views

How To Get More Views on YouTube

Getting thousands or even millions of YouTube subscribers is a dream for most creators. In the articles below, we'll show you how to turn casual viewers into long-term fans. 

Subscribers

YouTube Subscribers

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

Monetization

How To Make Money on YouTube

Want to see how your channel is performing? Read these YouTube analytics articles to discover what's working and what isn't. You'll learn how to identify which videos have the most Watch Time, clicks, audience retention, revenue, and more.

Analytics

YouTube Analytics

Watch Time is arguably THE most important metric on YouTube right now, and creators won’t be able to monetize their content without 4000 hours of it. But what is it and how can creators increase the amount of Watch Time their videos attract? We keep you updated on the best practices around Watch Time, and how you can increase how much your video content generates.

Watch Time

YouTube Watch Time

YouTube Shorts content is set to explode! 

All the latest tips, tricks, and rock-solid advice you need for this new feature.

YouTube Shorts

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.

Tips & Tricks

YouTube Tips & Tricks

At vidIQ we have incredible insights into what viewers are searching for on YouTube. Not only can we confirm the top keywords being searched for, we can also show you how you can leverage that interest to create content around trending topics and tentpole events. That's going to give you a clear edge over other creators!

Insights

YouTube Insights

Your In-Depth Guide to Building a Successful YouTube Channel

We’ve been hard at work refining our tools that help creators grow, and this summer’s drop is proof that vidIQ today isn’t what it was even three months ago.

a brand-new feature and other major updates

 - all built to help you stop the scroll, boost engagement, and turn casual viewers into loyal fans.

 you’ll want to experience the new power we’ve packed in.

One of the biggest struggles for creators is getting viewers to click on their content. With millions of videos out there, you need to stand out in a pool of endless scrolling.

Stopping the scroll is more of a science than an art. And like all sciences, you need tools to accomplish your goals. You haven’t seen vidIQ tools like this. Smarter AI. Faster workflows. Real results.

. This tool is like your own personal AI-powered design studio.

If you’ve been in the YouTube game for more than five minutes, you understand that 

 and best way to stop the scroll. A great thumbnail is clear, compelling, and makes viewers think, “I need to click this.”

Now it’s easier than ever to make thumbnails that 

. Whether you start with a prompt or upload your own assets, our AI builds out designs that look pro — without you needing any Photoshop skills.

 (we’ll remove backgrounds automatically)

 to match a visual style you love. Upload your own or choose from our library of top-performing YouTube templates. 

 to influence your thumbnail’s aesthetic

 with easy prompt tweaks, image edits, or by dropping in text

Thumbnails aren’t just art - they’re strategy. They’re decision points. The better your thumbnail, the higher your click-through rate. And a higher CTR means the algorithm actually works for you.

, you’re not just making something that 

 good — you’re making something that 

You stopped the scroll with killer thumbnails. Now keep them watching.

 helps you write stronger YouTube scripts in a fraction of the time, backed by real YouTube psychology.

: Continuously trained on what’s working 

: Include callback cues, pacing variations, and cliffhangers

: Adjust your scripts’ tone, add keywords, sound more like your favorite creator. All with one click.

 Automated research provides accurate and relevant information and stats.

 helps keep your message clear, your viewers hooked, and your content performing. And now, it doesn’t have to take days. With 

, you can go from idea to polished script in just 3 minutes - making it easier to publish consistently and keep your channel growing.

“I used to spend an hour and a half scripting videos that came out wordy and boring. Someone even commented saying my videos were 'so wordy' — that really stung. But vidIQ's Script Writer changed everything. Now I get organized, concise scripts in just 10–15 minutes.”

“When I used it for my next tutorial, I was so impressed I printed it out to study it. For creators like me who tend to over-explain on camera, this tool does wonders.”

Shorts are still one of the fastest paths to YouTube growth - but understanding why one takes off while another flops? That used to be a mystery.

We built our Shorts tools to tell you exactly what’s working, what’s not, and how to make your next one blow up.

Think of it as your personal highlight reel, performance breakdown, and growth strategist all in one. Now you can discover when a video truly gained popularity and understand what made them successful. 

All of these statistics can be seen directly in-line without having to exit the Shorts view:

including views & views per hour, engagement rate, views history graph, and outlier score.

including channel subscriber count, monthly & total uploads, and subscriber and view growth graphs. 

 now supports YouTube Shorts, giving you even more insight into what’s trending and outperforming expectations across the platform. 

Instead of just surfacing the most-viewed content, Outliers identifies videos that are gaining momentum relative to the creator’s usual performance. That means you’re seeing videos that are beating the odds, not just riding on big subscriber counts. 

Now that this includes Shorts, it’s an incredibly powerful way to discover smart video ideas, fresh angles, and unexpected winners across any niche.

Let’s say you search for a keyword like “budget travel.” Outliers might surface a Short from a smaller creator that’s getting unusually high engagement and rapid growth, even outperforming videos from much larger channels. That’s your signal: something in that format, topic, or style is connecting. Use it to guide your next idea, ride the wave, and post with confidence.

 now works with YouTube Shorts, giving short-form creators the same data-backed recommendations long-form creators have used to increase views and visibility.

Optimize analyzes your video and delivers clear, actionable recommendations for improving your title and adding the right tags to your description. You’ll also get an overall optimization score, so you can instantly see how well your content is aligned with what’s working — and where there’s room to improve.

Most Shorts get lost in a sea of swipes. To rise to the top you need smart packaging. Optimize helps ensure your content gets the visibility it deserves, boosting your chances of landing on the Shorts feed, reaching new audiences, and turning quick views into long-term growth.

 can now submit a video for personalized feedback from one of our expert creator coaches.

A coach will watch your video and record a response, pausing at key moments to explain what’s working, what’s not, and what changes could help you get more views and subscribers. You’ll see the exact moment-by-moment breakdown behind every suggestion. No vague advice, just direct, actionable advice.


Our initial rollout supports Boost users in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Australia, and New Zealand, for English language videos only.

__________________________________________________________________

If you’re looking for more than just one video review, you can work directly with a 

 who will take a deep dive into your entire channel and build a custom-tailored growth plan designed to break through the roadblocks holding you back. 

These aren’t cookie-cutter tips, they’re real, personalized strategies you can start applying immediately to unlock quick wins and build lasting momentum.

Want to see what’s possible with coaching?

. After joining vidIQ Coaching, they refined their content, followed their tailored plan, and watched their channel take off.

TL;DR: This Summer, You Grow or You Ghost

Here’s the latest features you get with the vidIQ Summer 2025 Drop:

 - Create high-impact, click-worthy thumbnails with AI and proven templates

 - Hook viewers and keep them watching with YouTube-optimized storytelling

 - Instantly spot top-performing Shorts and track breakout metrics

 - Discover overperforming videos across YouTube to inspire your next big hit

 - Find the best title and keywords to get your Shorts discovered

The Summer 2025 Drop is here: scroll-stopping science, smarter tools, and real coaching to help you grow on YouTube.

☀️ Welcome to the vidIQ Summer 2025 Drop!

YouTube cards are in-video notifications that help promote your brand and other videos on your channel. If you haven’t used this feature before, here’s how it works for the viewer:

In the upper-right corner of the frame, a teaser box appears during a video.

The teaser box shows a message preview, which you can designate in the YouTube Studio.

When the teaser is clicked, the box expands to show a ‘card’. These can feature a video, playlist, channel, or outside link.

Finally, viewers click/tap on one of these elements to view the content.

As a YouTube creator, this process for showcasing your work is invaluable. Informational cards can boost views on older videos and help you cross-promote different parts of your brand, such as a website that houses all your content.

If that sounds good to you, let’s explore how this brand-boosting, cross-promotion magic happens. There are two ways to add YouTube cards to your videos, and we’re going to show you each method, step-by-step.

The first chance you’ll get to add cards to your videos is when you upload them. To kick off the process, go ahead and upload a video as you normally would.

As you move through the workflow, you’ll eventually reach an uppermost menu in the upload panel. From the options listed there, click ‘Video Elements’. A new page will open, and you’ll see an ‘Add Cards’ section near the bottom of the screen. This is where you can add new cards that send viewers to other videos and playlists you’ve created, as shown below:

Alternatively, you can add cards to videos you’ve already uploaded to YouTube. Here are the steps:

Click your profile image in the top-right corner and go to the YouTube Studio.

Click ‘Videos’ in the left navigation menu.

Hover your mouse over the video you want to add cards to and click the ‘Details’ button (pencil icon).

About halfway down this page and on the right side, you’ll see a ‘Cards’ section. Click the pencil icon to open the video-editing window.

You’ll know you’re in the right place when you see the screen below:

To add a card, go to the video timeline. Move the horizontal bar, which marks where you are in the video, to the point where you want to add the card. Next, you’ll go to the top left corner of the editing window to select the type of card you want to add: video, playlist, channel, or link. Finally, make your selection by clicking the blue plus sign next to either option.

Additionally, you can achieve the same thing by clicking the ‘i’ symbol in the bottom left corner of the editing window. This will display the same card options mentioned above, and you can add one anywhere in the video timeline.

If you’re adding a video or playlist card, YouTube will display a search window where you can find and select the content of your choice. Once you’ve made your selection, this is how the info card will look:

When a card pops up, the viewer will see it for about five seconds before it shrinks to a clickable “i” symbol.

Need to see the instructions in real-time? Watch our tutorial about how to add YouTube info cards to your videos:

If you want to change a card’s display text, you can do that in the same video-editing window. Find the box labeled ‘Teaser Text’ and type in the phrase you want viewers to see. It’s best to keep your message short and sweet in this section, as you only have 30 characters to play with. To see what teaser text looks like, check out the previous screenshot above this section.

Next, let’s add a custom message to your card. These are optional, but you can add one if you want another message to appear when viewers click your teaser. Here’s what looks custom messages look like in action:

To add one, simply navigate to the ‘Custom Message’ box and type in the text of your choice.

Keep in mind that for longer videos, the video-editing timeline compresses like a tightly-bound slinky toy. That makes it hard to see the blue markers indicating where your cards are positioned, and that can lead to tons of errors. To work around this, use the zoom feature to expand the timeline and get to the exact timestamp you need to edit.

Once you make that simple adjustment, everything gets easier. With fewer errors, you can quickly drag and drop cards into new positions on the timeline.

However, if you do make a mistake, there are undo and redo buttons on the left side of the timeline. If in the end, you decide an info card isn’t needed, delete it using the bin icon at the top of the edit window.

Important Things to Know About YouTube Cards

While YouTube allows you to add videos, playlists, channels, and outside links to your cards, there are some extra details to be aware of. Here are the most important things to know:

You can add any public playlist to a card, even if you didn’t create the playlist.

You have to add both teaser and custom text to YouTube channel cards.

To add website links to cards, you need to be part of the 

Only approved links can appear on cards. These include crowdfunding, merchandising, and brand-specific sites associated with your channel.

To take advantage of that last part, navigate to the advanced tab of your channel settings. In that window, you can add the website of your choice, a card title, a call to action message, and some teaser text. Additionally, you’ll need to upload a custom image.

Now that you know how to add cards, let’s address the elephant in the room: Watch Time. While cards are great for promotion, you may be wondering if they’re actually worth the effort. After all, when a viewer clicks a card, they’re abandoning the current video to view other content.

When it comes down to it, you’ll have to define the longterm goal of your videos. Ask yourself which videos need to have your audience’s full attention and which ones are beneficial for cross-promotion.

If you choose the cross-promotion route, here are some best practices for when and where to add cards in your videos:

Save info cards for the second half of the video, after you’ve already provided some value to the viewer.

Use info cards sparingly in longer content, as you can only add five per video.

In shorter videos, avoid stacking cards on top of each other. Create a 20- to 30-second gap between each one.

Use This vidIQ Tool to Automate Card Management

Want to automate the management of your video cards? If so, we've got just the tool for you.

When you install vidIQ, you’ll see a button with our logo next to each video. Click that, and from the options displayed, click the ‘Copy Cards’ feature. From here, you’ll be taken to a window where you can copy info cards from one video to the next.

If you're new to vidIQ, our creator-obsessed goal is to educate you on your YouTube journey. We help you 

 and create an outstanding career on YouTube, one you can be proud of. For competitor research tools, video analysis, and helpful channel audits, 

And if you’re really serious about growing your YouTube views and subscribers, sign up for exclusive access to the 

 and learn how to launch a successful YouTube Channel in just 30 days.

Man pointing at YouTube play button with text "Make This Now" on blue background

Info cards allow YouTube creators to add an extra layer of interactivity to their videos. Here's how to set them up.

How to Add Info Cards to Your YouTube Video

When you’re building a YouTube audience, getting your viewers to engage with you can be tough. Across the board, most of them just want to watch your videos, get their entertainment fix, and close the app.

Any YouTuber who has been filming for a while knows this and can anticipate it ahead of time. While some engagement tactics are more effective than others, they always do the standard community-building tasks: asking viewers to like, comment, subscribe, and turn on post notifications.

But once you finally have your audience’s attention, what then? How do you convince them to tune in for the long haul, and in turn, start making more money from your efforts?

To answer that question, I’ve got two words for you: Super Chat.

If you haven’t heard of this feature that was 

, let’s talk about how amazing it is and why you’d want to activate it on your channel.

Super Chats are a fun way to monetize your YouTube Channel and connect with your audience. When you host a live stream or schedule a video premiere, viewers in the live chat can reward you with monetary donations ranging from $1 to $500.

To make sure everyone can see them, Super Chats are highlighted and pinned to the top of the video’s live chat. They also display the contributor’s name plus the amount of money they donated.

When it comes to building a community on YouTube, this recognition system is why Super Chats are so valuable for creators. They gamify the live chat section, allowing you to flaunt your biggest fans as they compete for your attention.

Need an example of how Super Chats boost engagement? It all starts with the pinned comment.

The more money a Super Chat contains, the longer the donator’s comment is pinned in live chat. So for example, if someone were to donate $500, their Super Chat would be visible for five hours. That’s the maximum amount anyone can spend on one Super Chat and the maximum amount of time a Super Chat can be visible.

From there, a comment’s exposure time decreases as viewers donate less money ($100 = one hour; $200 = two hours; etc.). It’s almost as if your fans are placing bets on who can get your attention the fastest.

If friendly bidding wars aren’t your thing, that’s okay. Maybe instead you can appreciate how beautiful Super Chats look? They come in a rainbow of colors, so thankfully, no one’s going to miss them in the live chat. Depending on how much money a viewer sends, their Super Chat could be red, green, blue, or another vibrant color.

Want to see what they look like in real-time? Check out this video from the YouTube Creator Academy, which shows examples of Super Chats and how to respond when you get one:

Which Channels Have Access to Super Chats?

Before you go looking for the Super Chat feature, take a moment to find out if your channel is eligible to collect them. To meet the requirements, every creator needs:

A monetized channel with at least 500 subscribers

Even if you have those three things, Super Chats may not be available to you all the time. To troubleshoot, start by viewing your live stream settings. Make sure you’ve activated the live chat feature because right now, that’s the only way to view, send, and receive Super Chats.

Additionally, you won’t be able to earn Super Chats if you have a ‘made for kids’ channel or post age-restricted content.

Once you’ve determined your eligibility, the only thing left to do is active Super Chats! Here’s how to do that:

In the left navigation menu, click Monetization.

At the top of the ‘Channel Monetization’ dashboard, click ‘Supers’.

On the right side of the screen, you can disable or enable Super Chats or Super Stickers ( similar to Super Chats, but are animated graphics viewers can buy to display in streams/premieres).

When you want to see all of your Super Chats in one place, stay in this dashboard. Right below the ‘on’ and ‘off’ dial, you’ll find a list of all your recent donations and who sent them. As an example, here’s what our dashboard looks like for the vidIQ YouTube Channel:

While Super Chats can earn you money and engagement, there are a few fine-print rules to pay attention to, such as:

YouTube takes a percentage of every Super Chat - 

In case someone asks, Super Chats are non-refundable. Donators get a receipt via email for each payment, and YouTube only gives 

Users can spend $500 per day and $2,000 per week on Super Chats.

You’ll need to connect an AdSense account to your YouTube Channel to collect the funds.

Now that you know everything about Super Chats, it’s time to host a few live streams and test it out for yourself! Show your audience some love, and they might thank you with a kind, monetary reward.

YouTube video icon with arrow pointing to dollar sign symbolizing video monetization process

Are you a YouTuber who wants to earn extra money? Find out why Super Chats are a great way of doing that!

What Are YouTube Super Chats?

 and have the ability to monetize your video content, you may already know that the threshold for inserting mid-roll ads into videos is now 

So, instead of uploading 4 videos a month at 10 minutes long, could you publish 5 videos at 8 minutes long and still earn the same mid-roll ad revenue? To answer this incredibly hypothetical question; __

This change is retroactive, meaning that any videos you previously published to your channel (that are between 8 and 10 minutes long) are now eligible for mid-rolls. Oh, and YouTube has automatically turned them on for you unless you opted out before the change. For more information, take a look at our video regarding this significant update ⬇️

YouTube Mid-Roll Ads and Your YouTube Audience

Now, this all seems like great news, right? YouTube can earn more revenue from adverts, and creators can place more adverts on videos to generate advertising revenue. Also, advertisers can pick and choose from more videos in a bid to reach their intended target audience.

On the one side, we have creators, and on the other side, we have viewers, and what connects these two is the distribution platform known as YouTube

The moment you as a creator, put an advert in your video, you are creating an obstacle, a potential barrier to the value that the viewer is going to get from your content. But at the same time, you as a creator, want to be able to generate revenue, because can't always make YouTube videos for free.

So, on the one hand, you've got to build your community, and on the other hand, you need to build your YouTube business. It’s a fine balance, but there are ways you can achieve it.

, Tom Martin, about best practices around mid-roll ads, especially know YouTube has updated this feature. Check out Tom’s 

vidIQ: Tom, the move to allow mid-roll ad inserts to videos of 8 minutes and over is new. What should creators know about the change?

 Before the feature went live on the 27th of July, YouTube sent out an email to creators that give them the option to opt-out of the auto insertion of ads across their channel.

At first, I was under the impression that it would only apply to qualified videos uploaded after that date. But from what I've heard from other creators, it applies to all videos that can benefit from monetization. That means that unless creators chose to opt-out before the 27th of July, mid-rolls have automatically been injected.

Now, that’s great for many creators in the 

, because they don’t have to really lift a finger to benefit from the change. But I know others aren’t happy with the placement of ads in their 8+ minute videos and are having to manually update each video. And in some cases, we are talking of hundreds, if not thousands of videos.

I believe there used to be a way to bulk edit ad placements, but I don't think that works anymore, because I could no longer find that option.

vidIQ: Does it really matter where a mid-roll ad is placed on a qualifying video?

 It does to a lot of creators, yes. In fact, many channels choose not to enable mid-rolls at all as they find them too disruptive to their viewers. Yoga videos for example, or music videos where a mid-roll ad would seem really out of place.

As it’s an automated process, YouTube can’t necessarily choose the very best placement for the ad, in the same way a human would. That's why I don't automatically use YouTube’s suggested ad breaks. Instead, I place every one of my midroll ads manually, and I always have done.

vidIQ: Can you change the position of a mid-roll ad after YouTube has inserted it?

 Yes, although it is a manual process. But I do it manually anyway because I think it's a better experience for the audience. Otherwise, there’s the risk that the ad could cut off the presenter mid-sentence, or something equally as jarring.

I believe you can also set up the feature so all future videos don't automatically insert a mid-roll ad on qualifying uploads. It's just that all of your old videos will now have been updated, so you’ll need to go back and turn those off if you want to.

vidIQ: Do you think this is a positive move from YouTube?

 I think, overall, it's really good for creators because it will stop people padding out their videos with extra content just to get past that 10-minute threshold. It must have unlocked millions and millions of videos that are between 8 and 10 minutes, which is definitely more revenue in creators' pockets.

YouTube attracts a lot of criticism regarding a perceived lack of communication about changes, but I actually think this was communicated well. It’s up to all creators or channel management teams to read their emails from YouTube and take the action they need to, so they don’t need to go back in and fix things.

It also makes perfect sense from YouTube's point of view. Obviously, they have lost revenue with a lot of the ‘Adpocalypse’ type events that have happened over the last few years, and with COVID-19, a lot of companies also reduced their ad budget in regard to the platform. With CPMs down, this is probably an attempt to try and get ahead of the curve for increasing revenues.

Think how much more money they will make by automatically turning these mid-rolls on rather than just sitting there letting people realize it’s an option then opting in. It's probably going to generate many, many more millions in the long run for YouTube.

How to Manage YouTube Mid-Roll Ads and Placements

A simple question for the YouTube viewer is, how many adverts do you think you are willing to go through in an eight-minute video? Our guess would be, at most, two. Also, it's really important to provide the viewer with some real value before you insert any adverts.

So, you're probably looking at your first mid-roll at maybe three or four minutes, and then another one in the five to six minute range.

Now, of course, you can leave all of this to YouTube to automatically insert the mid-roll ads, but if you are really strategic, you can place them exactly where you want to in your videos. This is how to do that:

Click on the ‘Monetization’ link in the left-hand menu

Once the mid-roll chat box is ticked, click on the ‘Manage Mid-Rolls’ link

A new dashboard will open that allows you to place or move mid-roll ads on your video

If your channel is monetized, YouTube has now made mid-roll ads available to any video that’s 8 minutes or longer. This means YOU can earn more money!

Your In-Depth Guide to Building a Successful YouTube Channel

☀️ Welcome to the vidIQ Summer 2025 Drop!

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