If you haven’t started a YouTube channel yet, now's the time. The platform has more than 2B monthly users, which means you have plenty of opportunities to find and grow your ideal audience.
That doesn't mean it's an easy job, though. With YouTube being a free platform, millions of people have launched channels with dreams of starting a profitable business. Many creators have reached success, but you'll need a solid YouTube strategy to do the same.
You can start by prioritizing these seven powerful tasks on YouTube:
Mastering each skill is easier said than done, but it's possible. If you need some motivation, watch the video below to see how seven creators used the game plan above to grow their channels.
Need more proof? Here’s an in-depth analysis of how these creators quickly grew their channels in 2020.
If you’re a fan of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, you probably know about 100 Percent Zelda. This channel teaches key survival tactics in the popular video game - how to farm superfoods, tips for finding the best weapons, how to set battle traps, everything.
100 Percent Zelda has been on YouTube for nine months. But in a short amount of time, the channel has amassed more than 30K subscribers and 4M views. That’s no easy feat, especially when you consider the competitive nature of gaming.
So what’s the secret to this channel’s success? It’s simple: Focus on one thing and never deviate from that. The creator played one game (Breath of the Wild) and taught players how to survive its biggest challenges. Instead of posting a bunch of random videos, 100 Percent Zelda made a commitment to cater to its audience.
You can accomplish the same thing on YouTube. Simply decide on a niche, then do what 100 Percent Zelda did. Post content many viewers find useful, and never, ever, abandon your audience.
Want to know more? We filmed a case study on this channel months ago, and you can soak up all the wisdom below:
In the thick of COVID-19, ClearValue Tax gave viewers the information they desperately needed: how to quickly get their stimulus checks. That prized information helped the channel grow from 200 subscribers to more than 1M.
Brian Kim, the certified public accountant who appears on camera, doesn’t add any fluff to his videos. Within 10 seconds, he says exactly what he’s going to cover and dives right in. The production value is fine, but it’s not overly polished with excessive editing.
Additionally, the video thumbnails on this channel are simple freeze-frames from the footage itself, as shown below:
But guess what? None of that matters as much when you’re helping thousands of people get the free money they’re entitled to. You can overlook some of YouTube’s best practices because viewers need the information that badly.
Nonetheless, ClearValue Tax did what counts most on YouTube. The creator posted frequently, which is half the battle. The channel also used relevant keyphrases, such as ‘second stimulus check update’ and ‘get your stimulus check’.
Want to start a YouTube channel that earns 3M subscribers and 12.5M views? If so, you’ll want to follow the wisdom of Dad, how do I? This channel is successful because its value proposition is clear. In each video, the creator teaches a skill most people need to know.
Simply put, a value proposition is a promise. It’s a declaration of what viewers can expect to gain from your channel, and every creator on YouTube should have one.
Dad, how do I? has a subliminal value proposition. Without the creator saying a word, you instantly know what it means to ask your father for help. The name of the channel promises you a certain kind of video before you press play.
More importantly, the content delivers on that promise. You get videos about everyday tasks, such as how to tie a necktie.
If you have dreams of going viral, take notes from this uber-successful channel. Make a promise to your viewers, then keep your word by posting the type of content they originally subscribed to see.
Paths Interactive Videos isn’t like the other channels on this list. In three months, it has only earned 6K subscribers and 45K views, which is nowhere close to the millions we’ve previously discussed.
However, we believe this channel is one Reddit share away from going viral. That’s because it brings the classic joy of choose-your-own-adventure books to the YouTube world.
On the Paths channel, each video tells a story. When the video ends, viewers get to decide where the story goes next by clicking an end-screen thumbnail that whisks them to another video. It's a novel approach to YouTube, and we haven't seen this content strategy anywhere else - except maybe on Twitter threads.
This storybook content may help the Paths channel explode. It has the potential to increase channel Watch Time, which is a crucial metric for getting more views on YouTube.
Furthermore, a video with a high viewing duration has a better chance of being recommended to more people. On the Paths channel, this is almost mandatory because you have to watch the full video to complete a story.
So each video earns a ton of Watch Time, gets recommended to more people, and then those viewers must watch in full to choose the next adventure. It’s a brilliant scheme that works just like compound interest, except you’re accumulating valuable Watch Time instead.
APKAEIASAAS is a Minecraft channel that earned 425K subscribers and 50M views in just three months. Minecraft is a crowded YouTube niche, so how on Earth was this possible?
YouTube Shorts had a lot to do with it. This new content type requires videos to be vertical and less than 60 seconds long, just like the content you'd see on TikTok.
But right now, not enough creators are making YouTube Shorts. There are more than 2B monthly users on YouTube, which means there’s a huge opportunity for short video creators to stand out - and that’s exactly what APKAEIASAAS did.
This creator posted YouTube Shorts depicting impressive builds in Minecraft’s mod-centric world. The content probably went viral because the YouTube app has a Shorts carousel that plays nothing but short videos. Chances are, APKAEIASAAS’s Minecraft content got featured there, earning the channel thousands of views.
Take a look at this Short from APKAEIASAAS. It has 15M views, which is an insane amount of notoriety for one video.
As a creator, you can't ignore the power of short video content. It’s everywhere now, so if you want to get more views on YouTube, start posting some irresistible YouTube Shorts.
Matt Talks Tech joined YouTube in 2012 but didn’t publish a video until 2019. And even then, he experimented on the platform to decode how it works and what his niche would be.
But when he did figure things out, everything changed. He found a successful YouTube strategy, cranked up his consistency, and started earning the number of views new creators want to see.
The formula Matt uses is simple. As a tech YouTuber, he titles all of his videos as follows: “Product + Release Date + Price.” So for example, one of his most popular videos is titled, “iPhone 12 Release Date and Price - iPhone 12 Apple Event Date?”
You can watch the video below, which has more than 500K views.
Once this formula was in place, Matt applied it to other product releases. The Google Pixel 5, the iPad Mini 6, the Xbox Series X - it was all fair game.
Matt Talks Tech dominates this strategy now, but it’s nothing you can’t repeat in the future. When you start your channel, pay close attention to what’s working for you. Then stay the course to get more views and subscribers on YouTube.
In September 2020, Jake Fellman had 41K views on his animation channel. Then he discovered YouTube Shorts and started uploading custom, 3D animation videos inspired by a popular game called Among Us. The multiplayer game has one objective: Fix a spaceship while avoiding the crew’s deadly, undercover imposter.
Among Us mania has shown no signs of slowing, so Jake seized the opportunity on YouTube. In just 80 days, he gained more than 1M subscribers posting YouTube Shorts filled with 3D Among Us gameplay.
Want to achieve the same results on your channel? Watch the full case study below to learn more:
Jake is a former 3D motion designer, so he had the technical skills to grow an animation channel. But he has another gift people don’t talk about enough, which is unwavering self-belief. Back in October 2020, Jake said that in a year or less, he’d get 1M followers posting video content. Now Jake has achieved that goal by simply being patient and passionate about his craft.
Creators, it’s never too late to share your passions on YouTube. These successful people, who are no different than you, have proven that in 2020. Now that 2021 is here, don’t second-guess yourself. Press record and don’t look back.
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.
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