How to Grow Your Channel with YouTube Playlists

Use YouTube playlists to group related videos, arrange them in a useful order, and give viewers a clear next video to watch.

Playlists do more than organize your content. They create binge-worthy viewing experiences that keep audiences watching video after video, while simultaneously telling YouTube's algorithm exactly what your channel is about. The result is more watch time, better search rankings, and viewers who engage with more of your content.

How to Make a Playlist on YouTube

To create a playlist in YouTube Studio, click Create, then New playlist.

1. Go to the YouTube Studio and click Create in the top-right corner.

2. Click New Playlist.

3. Enter a title and description, set the visibility and video order, then click Add videos at the bottom.

4. Select the videos you want to include, then click Create to save the playlist.

Making Popular YouTube Playlists

The best YouTube playlists have a few things in common, such as a good title, theme, and thumbnail. In this section, we’ll share eight tips for building a collection of videos.

1. Tell a Story with Your Playlists

Arrange videos in the order a viewer needs them: step by step for tutorials, or chronologically for a story. You want to tell a story that keeps building as people go down the list, which means you can’t use random videos in random spots. Your playlist needs a theme.

Here’s an example from Yamaha_Global. This lengthy playlist, “How to Mix Live Music,” goes from a brief introduction to discussing audio equipment to explaining how to do soundchecks. Each video builds upon the last to teach viewers a new skill.

Treat your playlist like the first season of a new TV show. How much content do you need to tell one story? Which episodes come first, second, third, and so on? With this train of thought, you’ll create the right number of videos.

2. Add an Eye-Catching Thumbnail

Like regular videos, your playlist needs a captivating thumbnail to make viewers click. The best YouTube thumbnails have bold text, colorful images, and a simple design that’s easy to understand.

Check out this thumbnail from Outperform. It’s attached to a playlist about sprinting faster, and the image reinforces that idea. You see a man running on a track and the words “proper sprinting form” in big white letters.

You can choose a video thumbnail to represent your playlist or use a custom image. To upload an image, open the playlist, select Edit on the thumbnail, choose Choose from library, and pick your image.

3. Make Playlists Discoverable with SEO

Write a clear playlist title and a playlist description that explain what viewers will find. Use relevant search phrases naturally rather than treating hashtags as a requirement.

But keep in mind that all of this requires keyword research.

Use relevant phrases in the title and description, and make sure the videos match the playlist’s promise. Public playlists can appear in search results, but visibility and keywords do not guarantee rankings.

4. Create One Playlist for Each Topic You Cover

Group videos by the topic a viewer wants to explore, then create a focused playlist for each topic.

On the vidIQ channel, we have a playlist for almost every topic we cover, including YouTube Shorts, thumbnails, titles, and monetization.

5. Create Playlists About Evergreen Topics

Choose evergreen topics that people are always interested in.

Here are some examples:

• Best cities to move to
• Quick and easy meals
• Switching careers
• Budgeting advice
• Getting in shape
• Healthy recipes
• Making friends
• Parenting
• Buying a car

6. Set Your Playlists to Public

Set a playlist to Public if you want it to be eligible for search and recommendations.

Public playlists can be found and shared by anyone. Unlisted playlists can be accessed and shared by people with the link. Private playlists are visible only to you.

Here’s how:

1. Go to the YouTube Studio and click Content in the left menu.

2. Click the Playlists tab.

3. Click the Details pencil icon beside the playlist you want to edit.

4. Under Visibility, select Public, then click Save.

7. Add Playlists to Your Channel Page

Feature a playlist on your channel’s Home tab so visitors can find it. YouTube allows up to 12 custom sections, which can be a mix of recent uploads, playlists, live streams, Shorts, and more.

Here’s how to add a playlist to your channel homepage:

1. Go to the YouTube Studio and click Customization in the left menu.

2. Select the Home tab.

3. Under Layout, click Add section.

4. Choose single, created, or multiple playlists, select the playlist content, and click Publish.

8. Share Your Playlists

Open the playlist, click Share, and copy its playlist link before posting it.

On an eligible video, add an end screen linking to a relevant public playlist so viewers have a clear next watch.

YouTube is always recommending content to viewers, but there are other ways to get views on a playlist. For one, you can share it on social media sites like Instagram and Facebook. You can also share playlists in YouTube posts.

Another option is embedding a few playlists on your website. If you have a blog or landing page, adding a playlist can boost your views from outside of YouTube.

Also, don’t forget about community forums. If you know an online community that needs help doing something, and your playlist has the answer, share it! You can post within Reddit groups, Discord servers, and Facebook groups.

Check Your YouTube Playlist Analytics

Open YouTube Studio > Content > Playlists, then select Analytics beside a playlist to review its performance.

Use views from playlist, playlist watch time, and playlist average duration to understand viewing within that playlist. Total views of its videos also include viewing elsewhere on YouTube, so they are not a playlist-completion measure.

Creating playlists on YouTube is a great way to grow your channel, but it's not the only way.

If your videos still struggle to reach viewers, use our guide to diagnose why your YouTube videos are not getting views.