- [Rob] So how do you get 1,000 subscribers
from a single video in just seven days?
Well we just did it, following our own advice,
so maybe you should too.
(ringing) (beeping)
Now then, hey folks, I'm Rob, welcome back to vidIQ,
educating you on your YouTube journey,
and today's lesson is all about,
well, just doubling down on stuff
that you already know works on your channel.
That's something that we've just tested
and proven on the vidIQ channel
through a video that basically explained
its own successful strategy.
Now, let me just temper expectations a little bit,
because one of the reasons this video
got a thousand subscribers in seven days
is because of the vidIQ channel and its size.
We already have a large audience,
so this video had certain advantages
in terms of distribution and discoverability.
But having said that, a standard video on the vidIQ channel
would perform like this.
And so in this example, we've 3x the watch time
and 10x the number of new subscribers,
which isn't too bad in anybody's book.
So if you take this strategy, apply it to your video,
how many more subscribers are we talking about?
Five, 10, 25, 100?
A lot more than usual.
Anyway, in a nutshell, this is what the video is about.
We looked to the data on the vidIQ channel
from three different perspectives.
The top five suggested views as a traffic source,
the top five search terms as a traffic source,
and the most subscribers driven from videos.
From all of these videos, we identified a common pattern
in that videos we make about how to get more subscribers
really resonate with our audience.
So we showed our viewers
how to do all of this within the video itself
while using the same strategy and this data
to help us decide on the title
and the thumbnail for the video.
So here we have a video that contains a strategy
that we want to inform viewers about,
and also the keywords that we want to use.
But here's the inherent problem with this strategy.
You've kind of already pitched it to your audience
in previous videos.
And we should know, we've already made several videos
basically titled How to Get 1,000 Subscribers.
So this is a point at which I needed a flash of inspiration,
and through a simple keyword search,
I came across this video title from Think Media,
which felt new and fresh
within the context of gaining 1,000 YouTube subscribers.
With this title, you're definitely
specifically defining your target audience
and keyword search opportunity with 1,000 subscribers,
but also adding a level of intrigue and fear of missing out.
(ringing) Try what?
I need to click on this to find out.
So although the title of these two videos is very similar,
the content is very different, but it does target
the same viewer psychology and demand
and need to get to 1,000 subscribers.
But as the saying goes, good artists copy great artists.
Steal?
I'm neither one of them to be honest.
Anyway, you can watch the video now here
linked on screen if you want,
but if you're a regular here at vidIQ,
I suspect you already have.
In fact, I know you have.
More on that later.
What I do want to point out however,
is something that I mentioned towards the end of this video.
So what I'm doing here is eating my own dog food.
The data never lies.
I'm following the data that YouTube is telling me
about the vidIQ channel.
And what I suggest you do is check back on this video
in around about 90 days and see how it's performing
versus the rest of our channel.
Fingers crossed it's above average.
(record scratching) Yeah,
didn't need to wait that long, did we?
Let's look at the data behind its success.
From the moment this video launched, it was ahead of, well,
vidIQ's own channel curve.
In its first hour, it got twice as many views
as the channel average, and even a week later,
the video is still getting loads of views
from browse features as a traffic source.
And that tells me one crucial thing about this video.
When YouTube puts this thumbnail and title
in front of viewers, they click on it.
(ringing)
And this is how to prove it.
During its first day,
the video average day click through rate of 8.7%.
Now in isolation,
that number doesn't sound too great, does it?
But, and this is what I've always said,
never base your numbers against common averages.
Instead, judge your numbers against your own dataset.
And when we do that,
our channel average click-through rate is a shade over 5%.
And so in comparison,
this video is doing fantastically well.
It's a very positive signal to YouTube,
and guess what YouTube is going to do with it?
It's going to test this video
with a larger audience through recommendations.
That's why this percentage for this video
is so much higher than the channel average.
It's also why when you review the impressions for the video,
there are noticeable inclines
when YouTube's recommendation system
decides to test a video with a brand new bunch of people.
Now, one thing this can impact when YouTube tests videos
is audience retention.
It's up 30%, which isn't great.
Usually, we hover around 40%.
But reassuringly, when we view the data
by relative audience retention,
the video does perform average or better
compared to other videos of a similar length.
So this is definitely something to be aware of.
When your videos do perform better than usual,
you may find that your click-through rate
and audience retention is actually lower than usual
because YouTube is testing it with audiences
that maybe aren't as familiar
or as invested in your content.
But now we get to the point in this video
where I can reveal its true nature.
This video has nothing to do
with how to get 1,000 subscribers from one video.
It's all about this.
Yep, that's right folks.
We're back on my favorite new analytic, return viewers.
The video we made was designed to tap into viewers
who had already associated our content
with valuable information about getting 1,000 subscribers.
And it worked because as you can see,
thousands and thousands of viewers
came back to tune in for this video.
I've already said this,
and I'm gonna continue to say this in future videos,
and you're more than welcome
to argue with me in the comments below,
but this button and these numbers matter far less
than this graph and your returning audience,
unless your sole objective is to get more of these.
But let me offer you a simple choice.
Would you prefer 1,000 new subscribers
knowing how often these subscribers
actually watch your content,
or would you prefer 30,000 returning viewers
to your channel?
I know which I would personally choose.
Of course, it's not always going to be returning viewers.
It could be new viewers discovering your channel
for the very first time.
But irrespective of whether they are new viewers
or returning viewers, what do you do next?
You build trust, loyalty,
and a relationship with those viewers.
I feel like this year,
I've been able to really tap into the vidIQ audience twice.
The first time was when I made a video,
ironically enough, about these graphs
representing a new way to unlock the YouTube algorithm.
The video did well, so I made a follow-up,
which again brought back our audience.
And so here we are again
with a video that's really popped with our audience.
How do we as a channel capitalize on this
by providing more of the same value to our audience?
Well, I'm gonna be honest with you folks,
and I don't want you to feel
as if you've been cheated or anything,
but you're watching it right now.
How to Get 1,000 Subscribers with One Video.
The title fits into the keywords
we know work with our audience,
it's a bold claim that we can now prove,
and the thumbnail dovetails nicely
with a previous one that got loads of clicks.
You know, all of those numbers in your channel analytics?
Well, that data never lies.
And we made a data driven decision
based on those numbers and it worked.
And you know what?
We're doing it all over again, and you know what?
Fingers crossed it works all over again.
And to finish off with,
your code number to put in the comments below
to confuse every viewer that didn't get this far
into the video is a number.
How many subscribers has your best video
earned for you and your channel?
Just a number, nothing else.
See you in the next one.