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

When YouTube cut its subscriber requirement for early monetization from 

, it opened the door for more creators to earn money and build sustainable channels. 

three public uploads in the last 90 days

3,000 public watch hours in the past 12 months or 3 million Shorts views in 90 days

YouTube Relaxes its Monetization Rules: Only 500 Subscribers Needed!

There's one caveat, though. Hitting this new milestone doesn't mean you can monetize your content with ad revenue — only 

What Is Fan Funding and Why Should You Care?

 is YouTube’s way of letting viewers directly support creators they love. Instead of relying solely on ads or sponsorships, creators can earn tips and recurring payments from their audience. YouTube introduced fan‑funding in 2014 to give viewers a way to make voluntary donations.

This built‑in “tip jar” includes three major tools—

—each unlocking at 500 subscribers and allowing creators to monetize while still growing toward full ad revenue. 

 is a monetization feature introduced in 2017 that allows viewers to purchase a chat message that stays highlighted and pinned at the top of the live‑chat window. The more a viewer pays, the longer their message stays on screen. 

This gives fans a way to stand out in busy live chats and gives creators a direct revenue stream.

 Enable Super Chat in your channel’s monetization settings and remind viewers during live streams that they can support you. Celebrate their contributions on screen, call out their messages, and thank them personally—it’s a powerful way to encourage repeat support.

 lets viewers tip on regular videos, not just live streams. Fans can pay between $2–$50 to trigger a celebratory animation and leave a highlighted “Thanks” comment. It’s similar to Super Chat but works on any published video. Super Thanks is available to monetized channels that meet YouTube’s eligibility requirements and comply with all policies.

 Mention Super Thanks in your video descriptions or on end screens. Encourage viewers who found value in your content to show their appreciation. Since it’s passive income, Super Thanks can generate tips long after a video is uploaded.

 are paid subscriptions that offer exclusive perks such as badges, custom emojis, members‑only videos, live‑chat access and other benefits. Fans pay a monthly fee to access these perks, and the steady income helps creators sustain their channels.

 Once you qualify for the YouTube Partner Program and meet eligibility requirements (usually 30,000 subscribers for non‑gaming channels), set up membership tiers in YouTube Studio. Offer meaningful perks—think behind‑the‑scenes videos, members‑only live streams, or early access to new uploads. The more value you provide, the more likely fans are to join and stay.

Fan funding can be a gratifying way to make money consistently on YouTube. But to do that, you need quality subs who are open to supporting you financially!

Building a community of 500 people may feel daunting when you’re starting at zero, but it’s achievable. Here's how to get those natural, fan-level subs on your channel.

Woman looking at phone and surrounded by emojis

It's nice to have 500 subscribers (and unlock fan-funding), but that doesn't mean viewers will automatically send you money on YouTube. They must feel 

 to do it, which usually happens when they connect with your content.

 (that you didn't pay for). These viewers will show up to watch your videos and support your content with the occasional Super Chat or Super Thanks, to show their appreciation.

So, how do you build a real YouTube community? As soon as you have 30, 40, or 50 viewers on a steady basis, reply to their comments! 

Engage with them on the YouTube Community

 tab and ask them what they want to watch. Keep showing up, and they'll do the same!

2. Choose an Underserved Niche on YouTube

 What type of viewer will most likely send you a Super Thanks (aka, a monetary tip)? We already know that organic, engaged subscribers will do this. But can you think of anyone else?

Alright, we won't keep you in suspense. If you can find an underserved community on YouTube — like unicyclists who walk their dogs simultaneously — make videos for 

. Chances are, they're waiting for someone, 

, to show an interest in their hobbies. If you're that special creator, they'll appreciate you 10 times more and

Another way to lift your subscriber count is by paying attention to global trends. For example, which video games come out next month? Is there a new dance taking over TikTok? What's happening in sports, cinema, and music?

 aligns with your channel, don't let the moment slip away. Make a video about it! Our 

 will inform you when there's a popular trend ongoing at once!

vidIQ can help you with that, especially when using 

 our newest feature. This nifty tool shows you which topics are growing in popularity on YouTube, along with a keyword score, competition score, and the monthly search volume of the term.

4. Target YouTube's Recommendation Algorithm

 watch videos that YouTube recommends? As a new creator, you have a tremendous opportunity here to reach new viewers. When seeking more subscribers, there's no better place for your content to surface than in someone's 

The YouTube video suggestions that appear beside a particular video

But which videos will YouTube recommend? Your best bet is filming something that 

 and likes. It should also mirror what people enjoy right now.

, look at your competitors — aka, channels that make similar content to yours. What are their most popular videos, and which videos are being recommended next to 

Study each recommendation. Write them down so you can make similar videos with your unique spin, flair, or perspective. After all, you now have 

 that YouTube recommends specific videos to your target audience. Use that info to grow your channel!

5. Make Search-Based Content at Least 30% of the Time

Standing out on YouTube is challenging, especially as a small creator. The good news is you have plenty of ways to get viewers' attention! You can make videos with a unique perspective or blend two niches to "wow" people. You can make the brightest, boldest thumbnails to get more clicks.

But no matter what, remember to make videos people are actually searching for. YouTube has many search pages; getting your content on just 

 could result in more views and even increase your subscriber count.

Channels that surfaced YouTube search for "start a youtube channel"

It all starts with optimizing your videos for YouTube search and doing something called 

Add relevant keywords to your video title, description, hashtags, and video chapters.

6. Borrow the 12 Most Popular Thumbnail Styles

Thumbnails are essential for getting your first 500 subscribers on YouTube. Most creators spend hours on those images, from developing an idea to ensuring the thumbnail matches the video title.

So, here's a neat shortcut to quicken the journey: Make thumbnails that are proven to work!

  How To Make Attention Grabbing Custom Thumbnails on YouTube with vidIQ

Show a final result (like the finished meal after a cooking tutorial)

7. Promote Your Videos Outside of YouTube

Woman holding a phone surrounded by social media icons

 so it pays attention to your channel. You do this by promoting your content 

According to Todd Beaupre, who leads the discovery product team at YouTube, sharing your videos in online communities is wise. You'll get your first video views much faster, enter viewers' watch history, and prompt the algorithm to share your content with similar audiences.

5 Secrets You Didn't Know About the YouTube Algorithm

So, think of all the Facebook groups, Discord servers, or forums that align with your channel's topic. Could you share your videos there? As long as you're a genuine member of the community — one who engages and brings value — it's OK to share content that adds to the conversation.

8. Use Links and Buttons to Help Viewers Subscribe

Sometimes, viewers need a little convincing before subscribing to your channel. And even then, they may only click the button if it's right in front of them!

 want to subscribe to your channel; you just have to make it easy for them.

That's where buttons and links come in handy on YouTube. You can add a YouTube subscribe button to the bottom of your videos, on your end screens, and on your website. You can also paste a subscribe link that adds people to your community once they click it.

8 Ways to Help Viewers Subscribe to Your YouTube Channel

9. Get Discovered with Viral YouTube Shorts

Did you know that creators are getting more subscribers with YouTube Shorts? We're seeing this happen monthly with vidIQ customers who reach 1,000, 10,000, or 100,000 subs in just a few weeks. Most of the time, they focus on short video content that ends up going viral.

How to Make a YouTube Short In 2025: The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide

But how do you make a YouTube Short go viral? First, hook your viewers with 

 that gets their attention. Then, start analyzing the most popular Shorts. What do they have in common that other videos don't?

Generic advice will get you a long way, but never to the top. If you're starting from zero, getting a YouTube coach is the best thing you can do for your creator journey. However, you don't want just 

 coach. You want proven experts who give you personalized advice for your channel and content. 

And that's why here at vidIQ, we built the 

 where creators like you can grow with the help of  the best YouTube minds

So, sign up for the vidIQ coaching program and let your YouTube dreams come true!

Woman filming a youtube video on her phone

Smiling woman recording video with smartphone on tripod against pink background

Are you ready to monetize your channel? The first step is getting 500 subscribers on YouTube, so here are 10 ways to reach that magic number!

How to Get 500 Subscribers on YouTube & Unlock Fan Funding | vidIQ

Our YouTube comment moderation tool provides brands with enterprise level audience insight and control over interactions occurring around their videos – and today we’re making it even better.

With YouTube Comment Search, vidIQ users now have a powerful search tool that allows them to easily decrease comment spam, reduce illicit comments, or perform viewer sentiment analysis.

Combined with the ability to sort commenters by reputation, reply to comments from any of your YouTube channels, and unearth a viewer’s comment history, you now have a powerful arsenal of YouTube management tools at your fingertips.

If you haven’t already given vidIQ a spin, get started and start growing your audience

Search bar with autocomplete suggestions for YouTube comment search queries on blue background.

Engaging with your YouTube commenters is proven to increase your views by 4X – which is why we encourage all of our brands and creators to embrace the YouTube comments section rather than fear it.

Introducing YouTube Comment Search

Introducing YouTube Title Recommendations

It may come as a surprise, but 58% of YouTube viewers discover a video because of Search and Related videos. In other words, SEO must be part of your YouTube marketing strategy. While we already offer incredible tools to help optimize your videos’ tags, we get questions all the time asking how to title YouTube videos to help them go viral. Today we’re happy to announce our YouTube Title Recommendations tool, which makes optimizing your video titles easy.

These keywords are recommended on an ongoing basis, every week – as search trends change, your titles will never become outdated.

Use vidIQ to optimize the titles of your YouTube videos for SEO

Improving the SEO of your YouTube videos has never been easier. Get started with vidIQ and start growing your audience!

Blue background with white text reading "Introducing Title Recommendations" and growth arrows.

With vidIQ’s Title Recommendations tool you’ll receive a list of the best relevant keywords to add to your videos based on YouTube search trends, search volume, and metadata analysis.

Nowhere is this more pronounced than in the YouTube comments section, which is famous for its seemingly endless assortment of unsavory characters claiming “First!” post or bashing a video just to elicit a reaction from other viewers or the video’s creator. Seeing their comments section regress into an episode of Jerry Springer is every brand’s nightmare. Today, we’d like to provide some tried and true options in how to deal with YouTube trolls:

Faced with the prospect of dealing with illicit commenters, many brands and agencies choose to simply disable YouTube comments rather than playing moderator and dealing with the mess. This, however, is an enormous mistake! Engagement (and especially commenting) is factored heavily in whether your video appears in YouTube Search and Related Videos – if you block YouTube comments you will limit the viral potential of your video and cripple your SEO. In fact, there’s a direct correlation between videos that receive engagement from the owner of the video and views, as well as whether that video is likely to receive additional engagement in the future.

More YouTube comments and more engagement results in more views, more subscribers, more comments, and more engagement

Probably the most obvious lesson that the owners of Amy’s Baking Company chose to ignore is the old Internet adage “don’t feed the trolls!” Ignoring a troll is a troll’s kryptonite – as a YouTube creator you should always err on taking the high road and staying out of a good ol’ fashioned flame war. Instead, focus your efforts on the commenters that matter. Identify influential viewers by looking into which commenters have the highest number of subscribers, and then respond to those users. These “influencers” are your most important viewers, and unlike trolls (who usually don’t have many subscribers) are actually worth your time! Many partnerships and cross promotional agreements between channels have been forged within the YouTube comments section, resulting in thousands or even millions of views.

Sort your YouTube comments by reputation and commenter influence with vidIQ

Instead of responding negatively to your audience, if you’re going to respond at all try being positive! A perfect example of this in practice can be found in the video Low Calorie Chicken Wraps Recipe by the culinary masters over at Being Fat Sucks. In a previous video, a viewer commented that one of the hosts had an uncanny resemblance to our good friend Severus Snape from Harry Potter. The comment snowballed into a frenzy, and every video with the Snape-ish looking host was spammed with YouTube comments about his appearance. Rather than responding negatively, the creators acknowledged their audience by having the host dress up as Snape in their next video. And guess what, their audience loved it!

Believe it or not, YouTube is a social network. In fact, it’s now the 3rd largest in the world (behind Facebook and Google+)! Adopting Social Media Best Practices will go a long way in setting the tone for your YouTube comments and creating an amazing community around your content. By rewarding constructive commenters with thoughtful responses you’ll create an environment that fosters positivity rather than thrives off the negativity that trolls love. Home Depot is a great example of a company that has done this extremely well. In the example below, a viewer expressed his frustration that Home Depot didn’t provide a link to the second part of the video. Home Depot acknowledged the commenter and replied immediately, currying the favor of their audience and increasing engagement.

Home Depot YouTube comments are an example of the best YouTube comments you can make as a brand

Know of another technique to successfully stymie YouTube trolls? Respond in the comments section below!

Woman meditating in yoga pose near waterfall surrounded by lush forest nature.

If there’s one thing that the Amy’s Baking Company PR trainwreck proved, it’s that trolls are legion.

A Lesson In YouTube Comments: Stay Calm, Keep Them On!

Our YouTube analytics tool provides incredible insight into how your viewers are consuming and engaging with your videos across Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. YouTube creators love our insights so much, they requested that we allow them to export our data so they can perform their own analysis on it; so today we’re announcing YouTube CSV Export! Simply click the “Download data as CSV” button on the Video Dashboard and slice and dice our data to your heart’s desire!

We can’t stress enough how critical SEO is to your success on YouTube. vidIQ’s YouTube SEO tool takes the tedium out of tagging and enables you to choose the best tags for your video, increasing your visibility within YouTube’s Search and Recommended Videos. One request from our users was that while they love our channel-wide tag recommendations, they’d really love the ability to optimize the last video they uploaded for SEO on a video-by-video basis. So as of today, you’ll be able improve your video’s SEO in the video detail pane and see video specific tag recommendations in one convenient location.

Find the best tags for your YouTube video automatically with vidIQ YouTube SEO

Growing your YouTube audience and increasing your views and subscribers has never been easier. 

Sign up for vidIQ and grow your audience today!

Blue background with upward graph arrow and bold text "Per Video YouTube SEO" centered

"At vidIQ, we’re constantly on the prowl for ways we can improve our product and help you grow your YouTube audience. That’s why today we’re announcing that we’ve made some impressive improvements to two of our most popular features: YouTube Actionable Analytics and YouTube SEO.

Introducing Per Video YouTube SEO and CSV Export

Trying to keep up with your YouTube channel’s comments and engage with your community can seem like an uphill battle.

To the brands that have pleaded with us to make their lives easier by building YouTube comment moderation and YouTube management tools to satisfy their needs; we hear you! This has been a huge area of focus for us, and we’re making our YouTube tools better every day. Here are some of our powerful features that are making YouTube comment management less of a headache for the enterprise:

No community manager has enough time to respond to every YouTube comment made on a popular video – community managers want a simple way to find their best YouTube comments by the viewer who has the most subscribers. To solve this, vidIQ allows you to sort your YouTube comments by reputation in order to discover and engage with your most influential viewers – these viewers are what we at vidIQ refer to as your Top Influencers. These top YouTube viewers are the ones who you want to connect with and encourage to evangelize your video.

Don't try to respond to every YouTube comment – sort your YouTube comments by reputation and only respond to influential viewers

vidIQ offers advanced comment sorting capabilities that allow you to narrow down your YouTube comments to a specific time period. Rather than having to visit each individual video’s page, vidIQ takes the tedium out of YouTube comment moderation by allowing you to view all of your most recent comments across all of your videos in one convenient location, saving you time.

Some of the best YouTube marketers we’ve encountered prefer to reply to comments from a personal channel vs. their brand’s channel in order to reveal the human behind the brand and prevent their brand from engaging in distracting conversations. With vidIQ you can reply to comments from another YouTube account, making YouTube play nice with large brands.

Although YouTube already supports threaded / nested comments (which Facebook just introduced for Pages), they don’t provide you with the ability to easily find every comment a viewer has made or a viewer’s YouTube comment history. We do. Knowing the context of a viewers’ comment and whether or not you’ve had other interactions with that user in the past is critical, especially if you have more than one community manager.

See all YouTube comments by a specific user to see the user's comment history

Introducing Real Time YouTube Comment Moderation

No longer will you need to wait for a YouTube comment notification email to arrive – manage and respond to your YouTube comments in one place with vidIQ’s live comment dashboard.

YouTube real time YouTube comment moderation tool

To learn more about these features and others, visit vidIQ and grow your YouTube audience today!"

Dashboard showing 1,439 synced new comments under the Comments tab for social media monitoring

To further enable our users to build a community around their content, we recently announced Real Time Updates, which will allow you to use vidIQ’s advanced YouTube comment moderation tools to manage and grow your YouTube audience on a split-second basis.

How To: Moderate Your YouTube Comments Like a Pro

"And just like that we’re back from SXSW 2013!

During SXSW 2013 interactive, geeks from all walks of geekdom (myself included) descended on Austin like wildebeests at a watering hole. From Matthew Inman of The Oatmeal’s humorous and inspiring keynote on performance anxiety, to a presentation I attended by Thomas Pickens on Developing Meds in Space to Save Lives on Earth, there was an impressive array of discussions on technology and science that spanned every topic imaginable. Trying to document all the sights and sounds of SXSW here would be a nearly impossible feat, so instead I’d like to concentrate on an overarching theme I noticed during my time in Austin; YouTube is the next big thing in social enterprise.

Out of all the panels I went to see, nowhere was this more apparent than at the B2B Social Marketing: Blazing New Trails panel I attended where the VPs and Directors of Social at Salesforce, Xerox, and Cisco spoke about their craft. Since their inception, Facebook and Twitter have dominated the social conversation, so it was interesting to see that a majority of the time spent on this panel (and elsewhere) was around YouTube strategy. At this juncture, it is clear that VPs of Social and CMOs have Facebook and Twitter figured out; social media management software and audience development tools for these platforms have existed for quite some time (I’m looking at you, Buddy Media / Wildfire Interactive!) and the best practices are well documented. However, YouTube is still very much the Wild West, and marketers are scrambling to understand this platform as brands rush to double down on original video content.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in YouTube search, which, if you’re Salesforce, dictates how 60% of your content is discovered, according to Jamie Grenney, VP of Social and Online Video. SEO hasn’t necessarily been a factor in traditional social media marketing, but it has emerged as The Great Differentiator between winners and losers on YouTube. Which is precisely why we are investing heavily in YouTube SEO.

We couldn’t be happier to be innovating in this space at such an exciting time; our tools and best practices act as a democratizing force that empower YouTube marketers and ensure they won’t miss out in the scramble for YouTube.

Panelists speaking at SXSW Interactive 2013 conference in Austin, Texas, featuring laptops.

For every similarity that exists between YouTube and Facebook / Twitter, there are drastic differences that present unique challenges.

SXSW 2013 Recap: YouTube’s Big in Social Enterprise

Over the past 8 years my passion has been online video.

I’ve lived and breathed it for my entire professional career — and I’ve loved every minute of it. This has always been the most exciting area of technology for me, and there hasn’t ever been a more exciting time than now. It doesn’t seem like that long ago that I was graduating from college, going to work at Macromedia, and founding Viddler at 22 — since then the online video industry has changed a bit (to say the least). YouTube grew from relative obscurity to become the 2nd largest search engine in the world, and a critical destination for brands to develop and engage with their audience. Bettering this audience development experience for brands and helping them manage their YouTube presence and increase their views and subscribers has been my focus for the last year, and we’ve built something truly amazing. The best part? Now we get to share it with the rest of the world! Today we’re announcing vidIQ is coming out of beta! And we’re excited!

While we have your attention, we would like to give our thanks to a few people, whom without their help, vidIQ would not be launching:

The hundreds of brands, networks, and YouTube creators who have been giving us feedback every step of the way. The thousands of people who have signed up for our beta and have been patiently waiting until this moment. Our world class investors who believed in us very early on and continue to be an incredible source of expertise and guidance. For YouTube on having an awesome developer relations team and continually making APIs available for our team to build amazing things with. We feel extremely blessed to be innovating in this space and encourage you to sign up and check out vidIQ for yourselves!