- The stuff that grows your YouTube channel
to 1000 subscribers is not usually the same stuff
that grows your channel to 100,000 subscribers.
Usually, the 1000 subscribers guys are spending a lot
of time on keywords, and metadata, and SEO optimization,
and things like that in order to grow.
And that can get you some traction.
But explosive growth comes from other tactics.
And that's what we're gonna talk about here today.
(cinematic booming)
Hey guys, my name is Tim Schmoyer.
And welcome to my backyard.
Here at Video Creators we're all about helping
you grow your YouTube channel so you can spread
a message that reaches people,
changes their lives, starting with your own life.
And if you're trying to get to that 100,000 subscribers mark
the algorithm doesn't care how many subscribers you have.
I know that's a common thing
that I hear a lot from creators.
My team and I, we work with hundreds
of creators every month.
And we hear it, like, oh, how can I grow
if I don't have subscribers and attention?
But I can't get subscribers
and attention without subscribers.
And it's like, no, your subscriber count
might be an indicator of how skilled you are
at capturing and holding someone's attention.
So if your subscribers and your followers is low,
then that might be an indicator that you're not holding
their attention as well as you could be.
So this the subscription is more
of a reflection, it doesn't cause slow growth.
It's a reflection that we still have
some skills we need to work on.
And that's actually what the algorithm does focus on,
which is how do people respond and react to your content
when it gets surfaced in front of them?
Do they click, do they watch?
Do they spend a considerable amount of time watching?
Do they go on and watch more videos from you?
Or when YouTube surfaces it they're like,
dude, we're trying to help you out,
but every time we surface your video no one really clicks.
And the people that do quickly abandon it.
And we've got all these other videos that we could surface
instead that perform higher than yours.
So were sorry, but we're gonna surface
these other ones above yours.
So, a positive response to your
content equals more promotion.
Weak response to your content equals weaker promotion.
So, how do we get more of the positive viewer signals,
the watch time, and the session time,
and the click-through rates, and all that stuff,
the things that Google and YouTube
really care about to promote our content?
Well, it's gonna take a different skillset
than what you have right now,
or at least a more fine-tuned and specific skillset,
like, with skills that are constantly developing.
Starting with number one, which is really
narrowing in on your target audience.
You can kinda get some growth here
and there by like going after some general audience
of people who might like your style, your genre,
or your niche, or something like that.
But it's gonna take a lot more than a few people
to just kinda like, oh, I casually like this guy.
It's gonna be really slow growth
to get to that 100,000 subs.
What you really need is to know exactly
who you're going after and develop a strategy
that that person when they hear you
and they find you the first time, one, they're gonna get it.
Like, and then they're gonna think,
(gasps) where have you been my whole life?
Like, I have been looking for your channel.
This is exactly what I need?
How do you illicit that type of a response
from someone immediately as a first time viewer
once they discover your channel
and your content for the very first time?
That's actually number two, but before we get there
for your target audience you need
to know this person's story.
They are a character, they want something
they can't have it, there's stakes if they don't get it.
And then who or what comes along and helps them, you.
You, your video plays that role in their story,
helps them overcome their obstacles, get what they want,
and ultimately experience the transformation
in their life that they really want to experience.
Whether that be through something educational,
kind of like my channel here, or entertainment
as an escape, or maybe as like a perceived relationship
that someone has with you as maybe
a vlogging entertainment personality channel.
The more deeply you understand your target audience
and what they want, what their obstacles are,
and the role that your content plays in their story.
The more likely that audience
is to gravitate to you once they find you.
And then the more likely YouTube search
and discovery systems are to promote
and surface your content to other people like that
once it proves to really resonate
very strongly with that target audience.
Now, to get that to happen, number two is your brand
needs to be very clear to a first time viewer.
My team and I work with like
a couple hundred creators every month.
And when I look at some of the consultations
of the channels I'm working with when we first
start working with them, I'm like, okay,
put yourself in a first time viewer's shoes.
Let's say this is their first time coming
to their channel or coming to one of your videos.
How quickly can they pick up on exactly what value
they're going to get from you and your channel
that will compel them to be like I need more of this?
Usually, what happens is the brand makes sense
after you're already familiar with the brand.
Then the imagery, the language,
and the things then they kinda connect.
But if you want to build momentum you needed to connect
with people who have never heard of you before.
This is their very first time
ever hearing of you, looking at you.
And, frankly, they don't even care about you yet.
They're just wondering what benefit, reward,
or value am I going to get from this channel?
So that means everything from like your channel art,
to your channel trailer, and the sections beneath it.
All the way to, like, how do you pitch
yourself in titles, and thumbnails,
and your opening hooks, and your branded intro.
Is that just like your logo doing a fancy flip?
Or is that actually adding more value,
setting up an expectation for this
is the value I'm gonna get from this brand.
How you introduce yourself, everything,
it all needs to work together to making it super clear.
Like, how confused are you hear at Video Creators
if this is your first time watching one
of my videos about what we're all about
and what we're doing here for you?
Hopefully, not very confused. (laughs)
The third thing that's holding you back from that 100K subs
is that you're not planning out your content a whole lot.
And by planning I mean not necessarily
the amount of time you're putting into it,
but that you're doing the right things in the right order.
A lot of people create their content, and they upload it.
And while it's uploading, then they try
to think of what's my title and thumbnail gonna be?
And they're like, I don't know.
And they go with something that's a good title
and thumbnail, but the video doesn't actually deliver
on that thing until like eight minutes into the content.
And by then they've lost all those first time viewers
who clicked for that title and thumbnail.
Or maybe the title and thumbnail makes sense
after you watch the video, not before.
The title and thumbnail needs to create the tension
in the brain that causes that person to click.
It really needs to tease that story, tease the value,
the reward, the benefit that someone's going to get.
It shouldn't not just merely describe
just exactly what that video is.
And it's really not about keyword stuffing either.
We're optimizing 100% for humans here, not for robots.
You could get all of the right keywords shoved
in the right place in that title,
and if no one's enticed to click it doesn't really matter.
But if the title and thumbnail work together
and pitch the human element that says,
oh, I know what we're gonna get here,
that's gonna get more clicks.
That video's gonna perform much better
than any other perfectly optimized SEO type of video.
So plan your title and your thumbnail
even before you tap that record button.
And then that's the only way you can really craft
the first seconds of that content
to match exactly the expectation that the title
and thumbnail set so that they keep watching.
Now, after they get passed that hook
the key to keeping them watching longer and longer
really comes down to story.
How well can you tell a story that really connects
and resonates with your audience.
If it's a tutorial video it's like, hey,
I've heard some of you like I did here,
maybe you are struggling with getting that 100,000.
Or, like, I told part of your story.
And you were like, yes, that's me,
and so you're connect with it.
But even if it's a straight up entertainment channel,
like this should be really easy.
It's like how do you tell the story that your audience
is going to be like what happens there, what happens next?
Or is that for real, or whatever?
It creates the tension, gets the click.
And now you're quickly going
through that three act structure.
We'll talk more about the story element in a second.
But number four is you have to keep experimenting.
You can do a lot of different things,
find something that works.
And then once you get to that thousand, two thousand,
10,000 subscriber range, a lot of those creators
are like, (gasps) I found what works.
And they keep doing the same thing over,
and over, and over again sometimes for years.
And it kinda turns into a hamster wheel race.
Because, like, it worked to get me to 10,000.
Why is it not working to get me to 100,000?
That's because you need to continually
experiment and try new things.
This might be that the thing you're doing
really is only good to getting you
to that 10,000 subscriber or 1000 subscriber mark.
But to get to 100,000 and a million it's gonna require
maybe a different approach, a different twist.
Now, the value proposition that you're delivering
to your target audience, that should always be the same.
But if you feel kinda flatlined, like, think about
what would version 2.0 of your channel look like?
Even a television series doesn't usually go longer
than seven seasons if it's a really good show.
So seven seasons at like 13 episodes per season.
You're at like around 90-some episodes per,
but for the entire lifespan of that series.
So if you're getting up to like,
especially getting close to that 90-some video mark,
you've probably pushed the limits on how far you can take
that before you should start experimenting.
How do you increase the value,
increase what you're delivering so that those people
are like, oh, this feels new, this feels fresh.
And I want to keep watching what this person's doing.
The top creators on YouTube that just keep
continually growing and growing,
I've noticed that they tend to, not pivot,
but reinvent themselves about every year and a half
to two years or so on YouTube.
I've noticed that the musicians who do the same thing,
like, who are still relevant like a decade later.
They continually reinvent themselves
every album moving forward.
So it's a normal thing.
Even Hollywood celebrities, and actors, and actresses,
like the way they present themselves and develop
their personal brand tends to change every few years.
So we as creators, we need to do the same.
And number five, this is really big guys,
is that you are optimizing
your content for the viewing session.
Not just like getting them in, clicking, hey guys,
hope this was helpful, let me know what you think.
You need people to keep watching, to keep going.
So when you shoot your content,
even again before you hit record,
you know how it's gonna open, you know the title
and thumbnail that brought them
into the opening seconds of the content.
But then when they get to the end of the video you need
to know what action do you want that person to take next.
And if you want your videos to really perform well
and be more discoverable, the main thing you need to do
is get them to click on another video.
So, I told you were we were gonna talk
about the storytelling element.
I put together a short playlist of some of my best videos
to help you tell and craft stories
that will hook and engage your target audience
and keep them watching longer.
So click that video there over my shoulder,
and let's keep going into that.