[MUSIC PLAYING]
Want to know the key to channel success on YouTube?
According to the YouTube Creator Academy,
subscriber count is a critical metric
that best predicts the performance of a channel.
Now, developing and retaining an audience on the platform
doesn't happen overnight, but there
are a few things your business can
start doing today to help you grow your following.
Let's walk through them.
Commit to a publishing schedule.
Think about the television shows you watch on a weekly basis.
Let's take Saturday Night Live, for example.
Saturday Night Live has aired on Saturday nights for 43 seasons.
Thanks to this consistent airing schedule, the show
continues to boast impressive ratings and a loyal fan base
season after season.
On YouTube, sticking to a regular release schedule
will help you build viewership by setting your audience's
consumption expectations, and giving them a reason
to come back to your channel.
If you offer several different video formats, such as blogs,
educational videos, or Q&As, you might consider reserving
a specific day for each format to keep your output balanced
and dependable.
Regardless of the schedule you choose,
be sure to communicate your publishing plans regularly,
whether that be during your intros,
in your description box, or through your channel trailer.
Ask people to subscribe.
As a marketer, you're no stranger
to the concept of a call to action.
In fact, you probably use them all the time
to convince website visitors to download a piece of content,
or subscribe to your blog, or request a demo.
That's why it should come as no surprise
that adding a call to action to your video
is a great way to encourage viewers to stick around
by subscribing.
This is because people are more likely to take an action when
you actually ask them to do it.
And there are a few ways to go about this.
The first option is to incorporate the ask
into your intro talk track.
This ensures that you're getting the word out
within the first few seconds of the video,
before folks start to drop off.
The other way to ask your viewers to subscribe
is through a custom subscribe button within your videos.
To add a subscribe button across all of your videos, click
Creator Studio, and then click Channel on the left-hand side.
Under Channel, click on Branding,
and then click the blue Add a Watermark button.
This will open up a screen where you can upload your watermark.
For optimal visibility, YouTube recommends
sticking to one color and using a transparent background.
Once you upload the image and click Save,
a second screen will appear where
you can specify when you want your watermark to appear.
That's it.
That watermark will now appear across all of your videos
and reveal the option to subscribe
when a viewer hovers over.
Use strategic sections to attract subscribers.
Audience growth is easy when you take
advantage of the customizable features available to you.
But before you tap into these growth opportunities,
you need to start by enabling channel customization.
Here's how.
Under your channel's banner, click the Settings icon,
and click the Customize the Layout of your Channel to
on, and click Save.
With customization enabled, you're
ready to make some changes aimed at audience growth.
The first thing you want to do is identify and highlight
the videos that have the best subscriber
rate using custom sections.
To do this, start by using YouTube Analytics to pull
a handful of videos that have a high number of views
and subscribers and a strong average watch time.
Then to create the actual section, click Edit Channel.
From there, click Add a Section, and then, under Content,
select Type of Content, Videos, Playlists,
or Shows from the drop down menu.
Finally, under Layout, select either
the vertical or horizontal layout and click Done.
So there you have it, three strategies
that will help you build your viewership.
For more tips on how to grow your business
channel on YouTube, check out the other videos
in this series.
[MUSIC PLAYING]