Want to get more YouTube views?
There’s no doubt the opportunity is there. In fact, Generation X alone watches 1.5 billion videos on YouTube every single day. And the average viewer watches more than an hour of video daily just on their mobile devices.
With numbers like that, it can be frustrating to see your own YouTube view counts remain painfully low. That’s why we’ve created this simple guide to help you grow your audience. Let’s get started.
Bonus: Download a free guide that reveals the exact steps one entrepreneur took to gain more than 23,000,000 views on YouTube with no budget and no expensive gear.
13 ways to get more YouTube views
1. Encourage existing viewers to subscribe
People who are already watching and enjoying your videos are a great source of potential views for future content. Once they subscribe, they can choose to be notified every time you upload new content. This will bring in instant views every time you release a new video.
The simplest way to get viewers to subscribe is to, well, ask them to subscribe. Add a call to action at the end of your video asking users to subscribe to your channel. And include a link in your video description that makes it easy for them to do so.
2. Ask your audience what they want to see
“An amazing thing happens when you ask people what they need and want and then you go and make it for them—they think you read their mind!”
That’s what YouTube creator Graham Cochrane told Hootsuite in an extensive interview outlining how he racked up 23 million views.
Delivering the content your audience wants to see is a surefire way to build viewer loyalty and keep people coming back for more.
Cochrane gets ideas for new content by saving interesting comments from his social channels and website. When that list of ideas runs out, he asks his customers and fans what they want to see more of. Then he makes the videos they’re asking for. Simple, right? And highly effective.
3. Use playlists to keep people watching
YouTube’s own numbers show that “top-performing brands on YouTube build and promote twice as many playlists as the bottom 25%.”
Those top-performing brands understand the power of auto-play. It’s much harder to pull yourself out of the online video rabbit hole when the videos just keep playing. You might not want to watch another video enough to click play, but do you want to stop watching enough to hit stop? If the content is great, you’re probably going to keep watching.
How to create a YouTube Playlist
- Navigate to the first video you want to include in the playlist.
- Click Add to.
- Select an existing playlist, or choose Create a new playlist (and then name that playlist).
- Choose your playlist’s privacy setting. Since you’re aiming for YouTube views, you’ll likely want to keep it Public.
- Click Create.
4. Use cards, end screens, and watermarks to promote other videos or your channel
Cards and end screens are both opportunities to direct a viewer to your other videos, encouraging them to watch more. And watermarks offer an opportunity to promote your channel.
Cards function like pop-ups that appear during the video itself, while an end screen appears (you guessed it) at the end of the video. Watermarks appear at the same time in all videos, in the bottom right corner.
How to add cards
Check out this video for an overview of how to add cards to your YouTube videos.
Since your focus is getting more YouTube views, you’ll likely want to use a channel card to link to your channel. Or, you could use a video or playlist card to point viewers to your other videos and playlists (rather than a poll card, as in the example video). But keep in mind that the poll card feature could be a great way to ask viewers what they want to see from you, as described in tip number 2.
How to add an end screen
- From your YouTube account, click the Creator Studio link under your account icon.
- Click Video Manager > Videos.
- Click Edit on the video you want to add the end screen to, then click End screen.
- Choose whether to copy an existing end screen, create one using a YouTube template, or create one from scratch using the Add element option.
- When you’re happy with your selections, click Save.
How to add watermarks
This video describes how to add a watermark with a channel subscribe function to your videos.
Keep in mind that watermarks are an all-or-nothing feature. They either appear on all your videos, or none of them—you can’t pick and choose.
We cover these strategies in more detail in our post on smart YouTube hacks.
5. Focus on your niche
It’s counterintuitive to think that focusing on a smaller potential audience can get you more YouTube views. But that’s exactly what Graham Cochrane does.
“I don’t try to create content for EVERYONE,” he said. “I try to create content for a specific type of person and let THEM decide if they dig what I’m doing.”
Those who end up digging his content stick around and become loyal followers who are eager to watch each new video he creates. Those who don’t move on to something that interests them more—but they were not the right fit for his brand anyway.
It’s more valuable to get repeat views from loyal fans who are likely to turn into customers than a bunch of one-offs from people who never return.
To get a sense of what kind of audience you’re likely to find on YouTube, check out our post on YouTube statistics that matter to marketers.
6. Create search-friendly (but still human-friendly) titles and descriptions
Before people can watch your videos, they’ve got to find them. That means your SEO strategies have got to be up to scratch.
When writing titles and descriptions, Cochrane recommends typing potential keywords into the search bar…
