Your YouTube Channel Stopped Growing. Now What?
Posting every week may not be giving you the conversions you want, and if you're reading this now, I'm willing to believe this is something you're trying to fight through right now.
Disclaimer: If you're brand new to YouTube, your channel will not grow overnight. It takes a lot of time, along with plenty of trial and error, to hit those projected outcomes. So, give yourself a little grace if you aren't where you want to be yet.
No matter if you've been online for three years or three days, what I'm breaking down in this post are clear and strategic ways to get your channel to grow. No, there aren't any quick fixes here or get-rich-fast promises — like I said, a successful YouTube channel takes W-O-R-K.
But if you're willing to put in the time and effort to nurture your channel, you can start implementing these nine strategies TODAY to steer your channel in the right direction.
Get Clear on Your Target Audience
You've got to know who you want to reach with your videos. You cannot create content for the masses because if you try to reach everyone, you create content for no one.
YouTube wants to put your content in front of the right people to get more views, keeping people on their platform longer. You've got to feed the algorithm to feed your biz. Defining your target audience tells YouTube who to put your content in front of. By doing this, you’ll also get a much better insight into the type of content you should be creating to reach those people.
Research Your Audience Interest
Again, nail down who your audience is already watching and what kind of content they're responding to.
It took me five years to realize that my audience was getting bored of hearing the same thing over and over. When I started my channel, I didn't do the research needed to see that my audience wanted more than just "how-to" videos. I was way too focused on talking about what I thought people wanted to see instead of doing the leg work to find out what people wanted to watch.
So, when doing your research, ask yourself, "Who is this video for?" and "What value are they going to get after watching it?" It isn't about the topics you post but about the audience you are posting for.
Create Content For Your Target Audience
What is your channel going to be known for? What kinds of people do you want to reach? What stage of life are they in? You need to narrow this down, then find out other channels your audience is watching.
Go to their channels and see what kind of topics they're talking about, how they create their thumbnails, and what types of playlists they have. Take note of what's performing well (more views than channel subscribers per video). This is your guide for what your target audience wants to see.
It may take some time, but this is an essential strategy for separating you from the thousands of other business or fitness (or whatever your industry is) videos out there.
Improve Framing and Sound
Creating quality content is the best thing you can do for your videos. No, you don't have to be in a blazer talking like you're reading from a teleprompter, but that doesn't mean professionalism should just fall to the wayside.
If your brand is bubbly, be bubbly. If you're more laid back, then be laid back. But DON'T skimp out on the quality of your videos.
It doesn't matter what your brand "vibe" is, if you've got clear audio, framing, and video quality, your content is going to instantly look more professional.
Check Your Audio — Always
Videos that are hard to hear lose people FAST!
If your audio isn't high-quality, it unfortunately takes a significant dig at your perceived professionalism. It doesn't matter if you've got the best idea around and the content to back it up.
Simply put: poor audio quality is hurting your views.
This is where investing in equipment comes in handy. It may be a larger cost upfront, but it will pay off. Professional recording equipment allows you to keep to the integrity of your audio and make the sound clear enough for your audience to hear.
If you aren't in a place to buy equipment, I totally get it. Your iPhone can still be a helpful tool to film your content. Just don't record in large spaces. Phones aren't meant to capture sound in these locations, so there will be an echo, which will make it tough for people to concentrate on all that juicy info you're talking about.
Have Consistent Branding
Consistent branding is the key to staying recognizable on YouTube. Your fonts and brand colors are more than just an eye-catching way to grab attention. When people see your videos, they'll automatically know it's you.
Your visual branding is just as important as narrowing your target audience [link to Feb 24 blog] and honing in on your niche. It's the pretty wrapping paper that ties everything together, your content is what's inside the present, and your target audience is who you're giving the gift to.
Feature Playlists on the Home Page
The fastest way to help people understand what they’ll get out of you when they land on your channel is by adding playlists to your home page. You need to show off your "highlight reel" from the get-go so people can see what the benefit of tuning in will be without having to watch an entire video to find out.
And while we're here, I'm just going to go ahead and say no to trailers. Sure, they're a cute way to show off your channel, but I believe that adding your best-performing video in place of a trailer is a sure-fire way to set expectations (and to establish rapport).
Create Clear Thumbnails
Your thumbnails are just as important as your video. Why? Because if no one clicks to watch your videos, then it doesn't matter how great your content is.
Your thumbnails should highlight what people are going to get from your video. It should also tie into the video's hook so it all comes back full circle.
Thumbnails should have a high-quality photo and clear, easy-to-read, text. But DON'T make the thumbnail text the same as your title. People can read — your title is right next to the thumbnail. Instead, stick with text that explains your video and gets people to stop scrolling.
Relatable Title and Hook
My top-performing videos are the ones that grab people's attention right away. That's why having a title and hook in your videos that your audience can relate to is so important. You need to grab people's attention before they ever click on your video (this is also where a thumbnail becomes important), but don't stop there.
The video's first 5-10 seconds is where retention is lost the most. So, if you are relatable enough in the title and hook, you're much more likely to see them stick around for the entire video.
