A Fool-Proof Formula for Growing Your YouTube Channel
How do you feel about YouTube as a small business owner? Do you use it as part of your business marketing strategy? I’ve had a YouTube channel for my brand for years, and I’ve posted video content here and there. But this past year, I’ve given it a lot more love and posted more regularly. I know video is super popular in our community, so YouTube is a fantastic platform to use to advertise your business! If you’re wanting to get started, but aren’t sure how this is exactly where you should be. Here’s a fool-proof formula for growing your YouTube channel.
I actually chatted with a friend of mine who is a YouTube master! It’s Kristen Hills from Six Sisters’ Stuff. She will be the one who shares her tips with us in this post. She and her sisters are so amazing and are so great at what they do. If you haven’t heard of them, they are known for their incredible recipes that are family and weeknight-friendly. You can check out their website here!
Anyway, several years ago Kristen felt the push that she and her sisters needed to start implementing YouTube as part of their marketing strategy. Most of her sisters didn’t even want to think about it, but Kristen was determined to make it work. She started researching it for at least an hour every single day, but she attributes most of their YouTube success to a training she got from Derral Eves, the master YouTuber.
Only after 2 weeks of implementing what he taught her, Six Sisters’ Stuff grew their YouTube subscribers by 20,000. He changed the way they approached their YouTube strategy, and they’ve been on track with it ever since. Derral has a book you can read or listen to HERE! This would be a great starting point for those of you who want to add YouTube to your marketing strategy.
A Fool-Proof Formula for Growing Your YouTube Channel
How to Grow Your YouTube Channel Tip #1: Niche down.
Does this one surprise you? Haha, niching down is always helpful when it comes to your content and marketing strategy. Kristen said when she first started her YouTube channel, she was throwing tons of different content out there just to see if anything would get a lot of attention, but she quickly learned that’s not how you do it.
When you’re posting all types of content, YouTube doesn’t know who to put your content in front of because it’s so random. But as soon as you niche down, YouTube’s algorithm will put your content in front of the right people. So Kristen niched down to Instant Pot. That was it. And she focused on Instant Pot recipes for a solid 2 years and that’s when she got her first 500 thousand subscribers.
However, she got bored of doing the exact same thing every single day, so Derral helped her figure out how to shift her strategy to quick and easy recipes rather than just Instant Pot. So you can pivot your strategy as long as it‘s connected to what your previous niche was.
How to Grow Your YouTube Channel Tip #2: Pay attention to your numbers.
If you’re not sure what to niche down to for your YouTube channel, pay attention to which of your videos is getting more views. This will tell you what type of content people are showing interest in. For example, at first, Kristen was posting Instant Pot videos along with other types of videos, but it was only her Instant Pot ones where the views were really skyrocketing.
Although it was really scary to niche down, she finally decided to just do Instant Pot videos and that’s when her subscribers grew insanely fast. Once she niched down, it changed everything for their business.
Depending on your goals for YouTube, you will pay attention to different numbers. Yes, views and subscribers are important, but if your goal is to make money from ads or selling your products, your subscribers may not matter as much as the income you’re receiving from making sales. In the beginning, Kristen’s goal was to hit 1 million subscribers. Now, she focuses more on producing content that sells their products.
This is a great strategy because she first focused on growing and cultivating her community. Now that she has it where they know and love the content she produces, they will be more likely to buy their products.
Another important number to consider is how long people are staying on your video. It makes a huge difference if they stay to watch even just the first full minute. We’ll talk more about this in a bit.
How to Grow Your YouTube Channel Tip #3: Talk about something you love.
Being a YouTuber takes consistent solid work. It took Kristen two years of posting every single week before she got a decent paycheck from YouTube. So, if you’re really wanting to get started, make sure you pick a niche that you could talk about for years to come. This is the best way to gain a following, make money, and enjoy what you’re doing.
I know it can seem overwhelming to think you’re in this for the long haul. But it will help if you focus on what you want to get done each day rather than months at a time. So, write down your yearly and quarterly goals, but make sure to write down those daily, weekly, and monthly goals too. This will help you keep your head in the right type of mindset that is motivating you to keep going!
If you want some extra help with setting these goals, click HERE for my best tips on how to win at goal planning. I even have some content planning sheets you can check out HERE where it’s all mapped out for you on how to reach your content goals within each timeframe.
How to Grow Your YouTube Channel Tip #4: Focus on these 3 things to stand out.
- Thumbnail (the graphic someone sees before they click on your video)
- Headline (title of your video)
- First 30-60 seconds of your video
Of course, you want to have an amazing video, but first, you need to focus on someone actually clicking on it to watch. So, this means you need to focus on your thumbnail design. An attractive thumbnail has bright colors, 3-5 words on it max, and a picture of you close up enough that viewers can see the whites of your eyes–that’s what people are drawn to.
Your headline always needs to be something catchy. Some of the best headlines use numbers, make a promise, and use exciting verbiage. Your headlines are also connected to your SEO, so try to use words that someone would search for to bring your video up.
Have you noticed how YouTube shorts have exploded? People love short-form videos. So, you want to make sure you are following that same format at the beginning of your videos. Every 4-5 seconds you should have something change on your screen. This could be zooming in, or out, adding text to your screen, etc. Just make sure to include these switches that will keep your viewers’ attention.
Biz Pro Tip: We’ll let you in on a little secret–notice what types of videos are doing super well that your competitors post. For example, Kristen noticed a lady who posted a video about freezer meals and she got millions of views from it. However, this woman did not have very many subscribers. That told Kristen YouTube was pushing that type of content. So she did a similar video knowing that it would get more views simply because YouTube was pushing that type of content at the time.
How to Grow Your YouTube Channel Tip #5: Set a date and film a video.
This one is more for those who are on the edge of starting a YouTube channel but just haven’t taken the jump yet. For those of you who have been putting it off–just set a date and film the video.
And remember, everyone is horrible at the beginning. So just start and get those horrible videos out of the way. The more you make the better you will get. Kristen remembers being so robotic when she first started filming. She’d practice what she wanted to say 4-5 times in front of the mirror right before she’d film. This helped her overcome that monotone voice and sound more like she was speaking to a friend. So just like Kristen, you will keep learning and getting better, and meeting your goals. And you are going to be amazing!
A Fool-Proof Formula for Growing Your YouTube Channel
Friends, I hope this post on a fool-proof formula for growing your YouTube channel was helpful for you! Isn’t Kristen so great? You can subscribe to her YouTube channel here. You can also follow them on Instagram @sixsistersstuff. And make sure to give me a follow on YouTube and Instagram too if you want more tips on starting and growing a successful business online!
P.S. Have you signed up for Business Mom School yet? Sign up HERE to get free content sent right to your email where I’m sharing principles and practical steps to meet your business goals and create the business of your dreams (even in the midst of motherhood.)
These are some of my best-kept secrets and I’m revealing them just for you because moms do business differently. And it’s time to start approaching our work that way. So come join us! It’s going to be so great.
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