How to Start a Successful Minecraft YouTube Channel

JUMP TO SECTION:

• 1. Create a Niche Within a Niche for Your Minecraft Channel
• 2. Pay Attention to Which Videos Get the Most Views, and Make Similar Content
• 3. Strike a Balance Between Minecraft Let’s Plays and Tutorials
• 4. Be Strategic With Your Minecraft Thumbnails
• 5. Be Patient

Are you a gamer looking to start a Minecraft channel? We’ve got exciting news for you and the thousands of subscribers you’re about to gain. Regardless of what you may have heard, it’s never too late to become a Minecraft creator. The game is 12 years old and shows no signs of losing its popularity – not even in 2021.

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

In this episode of TubeTalk, we chat with Nick Farzy about launching a successful Minecraft channel on YouTube. Farzy is a Minecraft creator himself and has more than 140,000 subscribers and 33 million views. His channel is only five years old, which makes him a stand-out creator among aspiring YouTubers.

Want the secret to Farzy’s success? Here’s how he grew his channel in one of the most competitive YouTube niches.

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 be sure to have a strong niche. For Minecraft 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 really 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 create a successful Minecraft 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 going viral. 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. Three months ago, both newer and older videos on his channel received some love from the YouTube algorithm. It didn’t seem to matter if the videos were weeks old or published years ago. YouTube 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 searchable and SEO-friendly 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.

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.

That’s not to say you shouldn’t 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."

Here’s what that looks like:

• 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 survial 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.

Read More: 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.

5. Be Patient

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.

Ready to start get started? Here are 8 killer tips to create your first gaming channel.