Dan got his start on YouTube in August of 2011, recording gameplay videos as a fun hobby while attending school for video production. Joining the vidIQ team in 2020 allowed Dan to combine his hobby and professional talents to now help others grow their own YouTube channels.
How to Get Millions of Subscribers on Multiple YouTube Channels
Getting a million subscribers on one YouTube channel is challenging enough. But five channels? Ten? Attracting that many viewers, and then doing what it takes to keep them subscribed, is a talent. It’s something few creators do let alone achieve.
Read More: 10 Killer Tips to Get More Subscribers on YouTube
Unless you’re Cory Crater. As a veteran YouTuber, he’s been on the platform since 2005. Back then, Crater was making machinima videos, which is short for machine animation (where video game graphics are used to make cinematic productions). In the ninth grade, he made $20,000 from a machinima-style video he posted to YouTube. Now he owns NewScape Studios, a company that makes content around video games, animation, and machinima. He has several channels, most of which have a million or more subscribers.
In this episode of TubeTalk, we chat with Crater about how he grew multiple channels. He talks about knowing when to adjust if a channel isn’t working and how he overcame Adpocalypse, a period of demonetization on YouTube.
Want Crater’s million-subscriber growth plan?
Click the glossary below to learn each step:
- 1. Focus on Content That Earns More Views, Revenue, and Subscribers
- 2. Increase Your Click-Through Rate and Average View Duration
- 3. Post No More Than 3 Videos Per Day On Each Channel
- 4. Make Unique Content
- 5. Ask for Help
1. Focus on Content That Earns More Views, Revenue, and Subscribers
It’s easy to grow attached to all of your channels. After all, you worked hard to create them. But to attract millions of viewers and keep them subscribed, you should audit your content frequently. Only certain video topics – or sometimes entire channels – are strong enough to hold viewers’ attention.
“I care about my fans,” Crater says. “I really like that we have dedicated viewers, but at the end of the day, if it’s not making enough money, we just have to cut it. And we’ve cut half of our channels.”
Whether it’s money or subscribers, figure out which channels support your overall goal. The rest could be liabilities that slow your growth.
2. Increase Your Click-Through Rate and Average View Duration
Did you know? Videos that are watched for a long time – or almost to completion – are shown to more people. On YouTube, this viewing metric is called Watch Time. It’s a positive signal that means people are willing to watch a video, and it should be recommended to more people.
Read More: Make Money on YouTube - How to Get 4000 Hours Watch Time
Average view duration is an important Watch Time metric. It reflects how long viewers watch a video on average, whether that’s three minutes, 12 minutes, or another number. The higher the duration, the likelier a video is to get a good click-through rate – the percentage of people who click a video after seeing its thumbnail. Because it’s being shown to more people (as a result of high Watch Time), more clicks are possible.
To get millions of subscribers, you need to increase both of these metrics – average view duration and click-through rate.
“On the SCP Animated channel, I need my click-through rate to be 8%-10% [after day one],” Crater says. “That’s all I need. And then the average view duration needs to be eight minutes. If I can hit both of those marks, YouTube will show the video to a ton of people…. When we go below 8% average view duration, YouTube’s like, ‘Eh, I’m not going to show this to anybody.’”
3. Post No More Than 3 Videos Per Day On Each Channel
When you have multiple channels, you’ll face the ultimate challenge when scheduling content. You have to determine how many videos you’ll post each day.
According to Crater, three is the sweet spot.
“All I can do is look at how a channel performs,” he says. “If I increase it to four times a week, am I making more money? No? OK, I’m sticking to three. But when I open another channel and make three videos, I’m making the same amount of money I made on the other channel.”
Here’s another tip. YouTube sends three post notifications to viewers each day. So if you’ve already posted three videos, YouTube won’t alert your subscribers when you post a fourth. That’s another reason to upload no more than three.
4. Make Unique Content
Some creators think YouTube success is about uploading multiple videos a day. They think of ways to beat the Youtube algorithm, then flood the platform with content. That’s not the best approach. You can, and should, go much slower to understand what’s happening on your channel – namely, which content viewers like the most.
Read More: YouTube Success - 3 Steps to Create Valuable, Highly-Watched Videos
“You don’t have to upload videos all the time,” Crater says. “You just have to make the best video every time.”
If you’re creating Minecraft let’s play videos, for example, be realistic about the outcome. That’s a very saturated genre. Anyone can screen record themselves playing a game while adding commentary. What’s going to separate you from other Minecraft creators? What’s unique about your let’s play content?
5. Ask for Help
Getting a million subscribers isn’t a solo project. Creators with this goal usually have a team of people helping them, from editors to managers to friends who simply hold the camera.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Quiet the voice in your head that says you’ll no longer be the star, or that someone on the team will make a huge mistake. Those things might happen, but that’s how you grow. When one person makes a mistake, everyone learns what not to do. When the star becomes a member of the supporting cast, someone else gets to lead. That makes the team stronger and your content even better.
“Until you’re willing to trust other people with your stuff, it’s going to be impossible to grow,” Crater says.
In summary:
- Give up a small percentage of control by asking for help.
- Accept that there will be obstacles.
- Grow together as a team.
Growing a channel to one million subscribers is great. But why stop there? Reach your goals even faster by learning how to create viral videos.