YouTube is constantly irresolute and evolving. Long gone are the days dominated by funny cat videos and dogs on skateboards. Today YouTube is also a place for marketers .

Over one billion hours of video are watched on YouTube daily — that's more than Netflix and Facebook video combined.

1 billion hours of YouTube video daily

But, here's the kicker… 62 per centum of businesses utilize Youtube as a aqueduct to post video content — which is crazy!

C razy-awesome for you that is — because when used effectively, YouTube is an extremely powerful business tool. Just in order to boost your sales , you've got to get more than free YouTube views.

In this article, you'll larn 18 ways to become more views on YouTube, build your brand, and boost your sales .

But showtime, let'southward talk quickly about how to make a video on YouTube.

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Postal service Contents

  • How to Make a Video on YouTube
  • How to Become More Views on YouTube
    • 1. Create Compelling Content
    • two. Encourage Viewers to Subscribe
    • iii. Create Playlists to Keep People Watching
    • four. Promote Other Videos with Stop Screens and Cards
    • 5. Add a Watermark to Your Videos
    • half-dozen. Make Sure Your Videos Are Embedding Enabled
    • 7. Promote Your Videos on Other Social Channels
    • 8. Understand the Importance of 'Sentry Time'
    • nine. Nurture a Community
    • 10. Optimize Your Video Titles
    • 11. Optimize Your Aqueduct
    • 12. Create a YouTube Trailer Featuring Your Best Content
    • 13. Create Compelling Thumbnail Images
    • 14. Transcribe Your Videos
    • 15. Publish Your Videos at The Best Fourth dimension
    • 16. Invite Guest Vloggers
    • 17. Build an Influencer Customs
    • 18. Know What's Viral
  • Your Turn
  • Want to Larn More?

How to Brand a Video on YouTube

  • Programme Your Video

Before yous start making a video for YouTube you need to plan what yous want to produce. Generate a storyboard outlining each scene or section of the video. Call back about the messaging yous want to portray to your audience and programme where in the video you lot will include calls-to-activity . This is important as you lot demand people to desire to do something afterward watching the video.

  • Write Your Script

Based on your video programme, begin writing your video script. Attempt to keep the linguistic communication relatable and appealing to your audition. If your video is a beginners guide, don't use also many technical terms. If you are making an in-depth YouTube video, make sure to include terms that are specific to the manufacture to build trust with your viewers. Don't create a long script if your storyboard is brusk equally it volition mean a lot of lingering on screens that volition not brand for a good viewing experience.

  • Create a Shot List

Having a shot list will encourage you to recall near the smaller details, like lightning direction and camera placement. Brand sure to create one once you're washed writing your script. It should include all of the things that help give a sense of direction to your production, such as the photographic camera setup or action/dialogue each scene requires.

  • Organize Your Scene

Will your video exist animated, alive-action, or real-fourth dimension? What kind of props will you need when making your video so that your YouTube followers will stay engaged during your whole video? These questions are of import to answer as they will help make your video expect more professional person. Invest in branding to add to the background of your videos and thumbnails then that your video looks tiptop quality .

  • Prepare Yourself

If you are starring in the video, or just directing it, information technology is important to prepare and practice so that the real thing will go off without a hitch. The devil is in the detail when it comes to making a YouTube video, so practicing will account for all the things that could go wrong when shooting.

  • Edit Your Video

After doing a few takes of each scene the magic starts – you tin beginning editing your video to omit small mistakes or elements of scenes that don't fit. Take the time hither to ask whether each line sounds natural, and delete lines that don't fit into the overall video.

  • Upload YouTube Video

Within the YouTube platform, you lot can upload your video, including a title, tags, and a description for your audition . These things will assist your audition to find your video through. If you are planning to create more than one video on a particular topic, you can create a playlist and add it to this. Call back well-nigh calculation cards and captions to your video to help users navigate more effectively effectually your channel.

  • [Additional Tip] Go Live

Once you have enough experience creating videos, why not try going live and talking to your audience in real-fourth dimension. Answer questions from your audience in the moment and requite your viewers the ultimate viewing feel.

How to Get More Views on YouTube

Now permit's jump directly into the specifics of getting more views on YouTube.

1. Create Compelling Content

It won't matter how many hacks or ads you use if your videos aren't good. And so how can y'all create compelling content that will get more views on YouTube? Well, i of the best ways is to create 'how to' videos :

How-to Videos

Just place what your ideal customers nearly want to know, and then create videos that meet their needs. Does this piece of work? You bet. YouTube creator Graham Cochrane racked upwards 51 million YouTube views by focusing on how-to content.

How-to YouTube Videos

Cochrane finds video ideas in the comments of his social channels. If that doesn't piece of work, he asks his community what they'd like him to make videos nigh.

Elementary, right?

Cochrane said , "An astonishing thing happens when you enquire people what they need and want, and then you become and make it for them — they retrieve you read their mind!" Bottom-line: Consistently create content that solves your ideal customer's bug or meets their needs. It's the way to develop a loyal customs of fans and get more views on YouTube.

2. Encourage Viewers to Subscribe

Have you ever heard the saying, "Your best new customers are your old customers"? In other words, retaining customers can be a powerful way to abound your business. Well, the same holds true for YouTube views.

Which is why 1 of the easiest ways to get more views on YouTube is to encourage your electric current viewers to subscribe because gaining subscribers volition increase the number of views on each new video that you release. How do you get viewers to subscribe?

The best way is simply to inquire at the get-go and cease of each video!

YouTube Subscribe to Channel

But don't just inquire viewers to subscribe to your YouTube channel. Brand sure that yous also prompt them to turn on the notification bong after they've clicked 'Subscribe.'

YouTube Notification Bell

This way, once a viewer subscribes, they'll be notified every fourth dimension you upload a new video. Growing your subscribers is vital to getting more free YouTube views, and so start asking your viewers to subscribe at present!

3. Create Playlists to Keep People Watching

YouTube's own statistics bear witness that "pinnacle-performing brands on YouTube build and promote twice as many playlists as the bottom 25%."

YouTube Playlists

Why do playlists work so well? Auto-play. It takes effort to pull your attention away from videos you're enjoying when they but keep playing. In fact, there's a cognitive bias at work chosen 'loss aversion.'

Loss aversion states that the pain of losing something is twice as bad as the pleasance received from gaining something equivalent. For example, loss aversion suggests that people volition piece of work twice as hard to keep $100, as they will proceeds $100. Auto-play uses loss aversion to reframe the situation.

The question is no longer, "Practice you lot want to sentry another video plenty to actively click play?" Now, the question is, "Exercise you desire to finish watching plenty to actively click abroad?". It's subtle simply powerful, and if your content is skilful, viewers will oftentimes keep watching. Also, playlists can assist improve search rankings, as playlist titles are another opportunity to target keywords.

The easiest way to create a YouTube playlist is to navigate to each video you'd similar to add together and click the '+' icon underneath the video.

Add YouTube Video to Playlist

Then you can create a new playlist or add information technology to an existing playlist. To get more views on YouTube, create a playlist of your best content and start promoting it today!

iv. Promote Other Videos with Finish Screens and Cards

Cards and finish screens are tools that you lot tin can employ to promote your videos to go more than views on YouTube. First, yous'll demand to verify your YouTube account to access these features. To practice this, click on your profile film in the top right, and then click 'Creator Studio'. Side by side, click on the 'Status and features' tab:

YouTube Creator Studio

On this page, you lot're able to view extra YouTube channel features and set them upwardly. Now let'south have a closer wait at stop screens and cards.

An end screen is a dedicated frame that you can place at the end of your videos to wrap things upwards, and highlight calls-to-action.

Cards are a tool that you can ready to popular-upward anytime in the video. Y'all can set these to direct people to another video or playlist, or yous can create a poll card which is a not bad way to enquire viewers what they'd like to run across more of (call up tip number 1?).

To add end screens and cards to your videos, go to the Creator Studio and click 'Video Manager,' and so click 'Videos.' Find the video that you lot want to add together the finish screen menu to and click 'Edit.' Once you're on the video editor page, you tin can add together end screens and cards by clicking the card items at the summit of the folio:

Add YouTube End Screen and Cards

End screens and cards are powerful tools, and then brand sure you utilize them to present calls-to-activity in your YouTube videos.

v. Add a Watermark to Your Videos

Watermarks allow you to proceeds more subscribers and gratis YouTube views past promoting your channel across all of your videos. Essentially, a watermark is just an paradigm that you can ready to appear on all of your videos — nearly brands apply their logo. When a viewer hovers their mouse over a watermark, it prompts them to subscribe. Which is why the Shopify YouTube channel has chosen a watermark saying 'subscribe':

YouTube Watermark

Once once again, you lot need to verify your YouTube account to be able to upload a watermark. It's worth pointing out that you tin can't pick and choose which videos display watermarks and which don't — they either appear on all of your videos or none of them.

To add a watermark to your videos head to the Creator Studio and click 'Branding.'

Add YouTube Watermark

Then click 'Add together a Watermark' and upload your epitome.

In summary, use this elementary tool to promote your brand on your YouTube aqueduct.

Tip: Design a watermark that is square, transparent, and above l×l pixels. Every bit YouTube shrinks downward watermarks when displaying them in the corner of the videos, creating a larger one volition help ensure your branding is visible to your target audience .

6. Make Sure Your Videos Are Embedding Enabled

You've spent ages creating an awesome video and now your viewers want to share it on their websites and blogs!

…just they tin't. Because you lot forgot to enable embedding.

* Gulp*

Allowing viewers to embed your video on their websites and blogs is an effective way for your make to reach new audiences and get more views on YouTube. If a video has embedding enabled, when a viewer clicks 'Share' underneath the video window, YouTube will evidence them the 'Embed' option:

YouTube Video Embed

In one case they click on this, they'll be able to re-create the video's embedding code and paste it onto their blog or website.

YouTube Video Embed Code

To enable embedding, caput to the Creator Studio and navigate to the video's edit folio.

And so click 'Advanced Settings' and curlicue down to the "Distribution options" and make sure the "Allow Embedding" is ticked:

Allow YouTube Video Embedding

Bottom-line: Make sure your videos have embedding enabled to encourage viewers to share your content.

If yous have followers on other social channels, let them know each time y'all upload a new video to YouTube. A practiced way to do this is with a brusque teaser video. For example, yous can create a minute-long teaser for a new YouTube video, then mail it on your Facebook page with a link to the full video on your YouTube channel .

To make things easier, endeavor using a social media scheduling tool like Hootsuite or Buffer . Simply don't merely stick to social channels. You lot can also embed your YouTube videos in relevant blog posts and pages on your website.

And don't forget about electronic mail marketing . With an industry boilerplate open rate of 18 pct and a buy rate of 66 pct, email marketing is a powerhouse when it comes to sales conversions. Information technology doesn't need to be as well complicated either.

(Psst! If you oasis't already, make sure to subscribe to our newsletter to acquire more than virtually how to build your online business.)

YouTube isn't a standalone social channel, so make certain to cantankerous-promote your videos through your free marketing channels .

8. Sympathize the Importance of 'Watch Time'

YouTube describes their algorithm every bit a " search and discovery organisation ."  This algorithm determines which videos are shown:

  • On the homepage
  • As suggested videos
  • In search results
  • Under the Subscriptions tab
  • Through notifications that viewers take created

What's more, the algorithm doesn't merely impact individual videos, but entire YouTube channels. YouTube's algorithm is circuitous, but the most important thing to empathize is that it's heavily based on 'Watch Time.' In fact, according to YouTube , "Each video uploaded — equally well as every channel on YouTube — is 'ranked' by watch time."

Watch Fourth dimension is how much time people spend actually watching your videos:

YouTube Watch Time

Lesser-line: YouTube rewards quality. The better your videos are, the more time people spend watching them. This will increase your Watch Time minutes so YouTube volition favor your videos and channel.

One more than thing: Your YouTube channel can also earn 'lookout man time credits' for referring viewers to other videos. It'due south basically like chapter marketing .

In summary: Focus on retaining viewers for as long as you tin can, and don't be agape of promoting other YouTube channels in your niche!

YouTube isn't only a video search engine. It's also a social network. And so to become more views on YouTube, you need to use it like other social networks. In other words, it isn't enough to just regularly share videos, you besides demand to actively appoint your audience.

How? The all-time style is to simply respond to comments — particularly if someone asks a directly question. Because other viewers volition exist more probable to comment themselves if they know they'll receive a response. It but takes a second, and y'all can do it while you're browsing your comments for new video ideas (call back tip number 1?).

Besides that, endeavour to be an active member of your niche customs. Subscribe to other channels in your niche, leave comments on their videos, and share any that your own audience might enjoy. In other words, requite before y'all get.

If you engage generously and authentically, viewers volition detect and information technology volition be much easier to establish your make in a niche of passionate fans. And remember, promoting other videos volition score you Watch Time credits, which will help to boost your channel in YouTube'due south algorithm. Lastly, you can also involve viewers directly.

One of the easiest ways to do this is to hold a contest or prize draw. For case, you could ask viewers to share your video on Facebook and leave a annotate to be entered into a describe to win one of your products. Growing a loyal, active community is a surefire way to get more views on YouTube.

10. Optimize Your Video Titles

YouTube is a search engine. Which ways search engine optimization (SEO) matters.

YouTube's algorithm takes multiple items into account when selecting videos for search results. And the platform provides a number of opportunities to optimize your channel and videos — including video file names, titles, descriptions, and tags.

And so include every bit much information as possible. Crucially, yous demand to know which keywords you want your videos and channel to rank for.

Keywords in YouTube Video Titles

YouTuber Graham Cochrane discovers relevant keywords past typing potential keywords into the search bar to meet what appears in the autocomplete. Yous can also use free keyword tools similar Google Trends and Google Ads Keyword Planner .

But beware… YouTube will penalize yous for including keywords that aren't relevant to your video. Likewise keep your titles between 60-70 characters long . This gives you the about room to create a compelling title, while also ensuring that information technology won't be cut short in search results. Lastly, don't forget the humans!

Certain, yous demand to apply keywords to assistance your videos rank in search results, but to get more than free YouTube views, you as well need your video titles and descriptions to appeal to viewers. In general, aim for a residuum between accurate, informative, and attention-grabbing.

As the famed copywriter David Ogilvy once wrote , "When you lot have written your headline, you have spent fourscore cents out of your dollar." Then whatever you practise, pay shut attention to your video titles.

11. Optimize Your Channel

Optimizing your channel is vital to strengthening your brand and boosting your YouTube views. And YouTube provides plenty of ways to optimize your aqueduct. Hither'due south how Daniel Wellington has washed it:

Daniel Wellington YouTube

Let'due south quickly run through some of the main components:

Create a strong, consequent make aesthetic.

Ensure that your YouTube branding is consistent with your website and other social channels. This means using the aforementioned logo, images, and colors . Your profile film should exist 800 10 800 pixels. It should as well still look good when displayed smaller. Your banner art should be at least 2560 ten 1440 pixels, and in that location'southward a template to help you design your imprint art in YouTube's Creator University .

Optimize your YouTube channel description.

This is shown on your channel's 'About' tab. You only get one,000 characters, so make 'em count. What should you write in your YouTube aqueduct description? Well, start with a quick clarification of your brand and the benefits of your products.

And so tell viewers why they should sentinel your YouTube videos. Are you teaching them something? Or is your channel more often than not virtually entertainment? Lesser-line: Tell viewers what's in it for them. Only similar your individual video titles, make sure that you include your targeted keywords in your YouTube channel clarification.

Add together your social channels, links to your website, and a way to arrive contact.

In other words, make information technology easy for viewers to find out more than nigh your brand.

Add channel keywords.

In one case y'all've researched and decided on the keywords you want your channel to rank for in the search results, click "Channel," and then "Avant-garde." Then merely input your keywords into the box titled "Channel Keywords."

YouTube Channel Keywords

Lastly, enable related channels.

"One of the biggest mistakes I run into concern channels make is that they turn off the 'related channels' characteristic on YouTube," said Syed Balkhi , the founder of List25 (which has over ii.three million subscribers and 582 million views).

By turning it off, you remove your channel from YouTube'due south recommendations. As a event, you'll lose the network effect that makes YouTube such a powerful tool.

In summary, make certain that you optimize your YouTube channel and that all of your information is complete.

12. Create a YouTube Trailer Featuring Your Best Content

Your YouTube trailer is a brusk video that's shown to new visitors on your channel. It'southward a fantastic opportunity to:

  • Show viewers what kind of content you create,
  • Highlight the benefits your channel provides,
  • And, encourage them to subscribe.

There are no specific rules around the trailer's maximum length, merely almost YouTubers keep information technology betwixt 25-30 seconds.

What makes a fantastic YouTube trailer? A nice short video that conveys your story, ambitions, and vision. And so, when thinking of ideas for your trailer, ask yourself, "What's my background"? "What do I hope to achieve"? "What compelled me to create a YouTube aqueduct"?

Continue the most interesting things you have to say reserved for the first few seconds, but sprinkle your personality throughout the trailer, like international series entrepreneur Peter Sage did:

To create your trailer, go to your aqueduct homepage and click "Customise Channel." This will redirect you to a page where you tin upload your trailer's footage. Once done, write a clarification, enter your SEO tags, and click "Publish."

how to create a YouTube trailer

Later publishing, caput back to your channel homepage and click the Customise Aqueduct push again. The trailer should now be present in your video library. Set it every bit your YouTube trailer by clicking the "For New Visitors" tab.

And that's it. Your channel trailer is set up to make an bear on. Let it do the legwork of impressing whoever decides to cheque out your channel.

13. Create Compelling Thumbnail Images

A thumbnail is a video's preview image. This little image is extremely important if you want to get more free YouTube views. When yous upload a video, you tin choose one of the auto-generated thumbnail images.

Don't. Instead, create and upload your ain custom thumbnail epitome. YouTube reports that 90 pct of the top-performing videos on YouTube use them — and for good reason.

YouTube Custom Thumbnails

(If you lot haven't still, you need to verify your YouTube business relationship to access this feature.)

An effective thumbnail image can help your videos stand out.

YouTube Video Thumbnails

YouTube says , "Thumbnails require an art manager's heart for branding, and shouldn't be an afterthought." In fact, they recommend that yous think about your thumbnail earlier you beginning filming. That way, you tin make sure you capture the footage needed to create a compelling thumbnail image. A adept thumbnail is one that is eye-catching, compelling, congruent with your make, and accurately represents the video's content.

In general, try to include:

  • Brightly colored backgrounds
  • Close-ups of faces
  • Text overlays
  • Subtle branding — similar a small logo or watermark

Okay, what about the technicalities? Your thumbnail should:

  • Use a sixteen:9 aspect ratio, as this is the most used aspect ratio in YouTube players
  • Take a resolution of 1280×720
  • Have a file-size of less than 2MB
  • Exist formatted as a .JPG, .GIF, .BMP, or .PNG

You lot can also use a gratis image editing and graphic design tool like Canva to create your thumbnails. Remember, thumbnails are ane of the all-time ways to catch the attention of people browsing YouTube, then brand certain that yours are effective and compelling.

To learn more about the perfect YouTube thumbnail size and best practices, bank check out our guide hither.

xiv. Transcribe Your Videos

Creating videos is great, but sometimes your audition will need a transcription due to linguistic communication constraints or disability. YouTube allows for closed captions where a transcript is added as subtitles to a video. Viewers can toggle these subtitles on and off at will. If you plan on opening your videos to an international market, transcriptions tin exist a great thought. Translating scripts are useful for helping those with other language abilities to understand your videos meliorate.

How do you create a transcription document for upload to YouTube? It is quite unproblematic actually. You create a SubRip Subtitle file, SRT for curt, which includes the start and terminate times next to the text.

SRT Subtitle File

This can then exist saved as a file with timings included so that text displays at the correct time in the video.

SubRip Subtitle File

Once uploaded to YouTube, or whatsoever other video platform, double bank check your timings are right and viola, you've got yourself a closed caption video.

Upload YouTube Subtitle File

15. Publish Your Videos at The All-time Time

The best fourth dimension is when your target visitors are watching your videos. Fortunately, this is no longer a mystery as YouTube tracks the hours and days when your audience is on YouTube. You tin can dig into your "When your viewers are on YouTube" study to identify meridian times and publish content in an 60 minutes or 2 earlier those peaks. Publishing before volition requite your audience a chance to discover your new videos, resulting in more free views.

To access the report, go to your channel homepage, click Customize Aqueduct, select Analytics from the left-hand tab below your aqueduct profile moving-picture show, and click the Audience tab. You should now run into the option to generate a "When your viewers are on YouTube" report. If you don't have plenty daily views to generate this study, then yous can try publishing in the hours we've mentioned in our post The All-time Time to Post on Social Media in 2021 .

16. Invite Guest Vloggers

Invitee blogging is a great way to gain new followers and viewers. Identifying influencers who take a similar audience to yours will open your aqueduct upward to potential viewers who have the same interests as you. Building a shut relationship with these influencers later creating a video with them volition hateful that they will share your videos with their followers if you do the same for them. This reciprocity is a surefire way to gain free new views on YouTube.

Guest Vloggers are great not but for free ways to go more views only as well to add more variety to your videos. Having another person to begin video ideas with tin can open the door to creative videography which will, in turn, create more views on your YouTube channel.

Digital marketer and author Jordan Platten ofttimes records videos with influencers:

guest invite free YouTube videos

For sure, it'south non merely his audience tuning in and sharing these videos, but the influencer's also.

Post-obit on from guest vloggers, building a stiff influencer community that shares customs content and works together to help everyone involved is a great way to get more views on your YouTube aqueduct. Existence an influencer can be very lonely and competitive. Reaching out to influencers similar to yourself to share noesis and information can help to build a community of influencers that look afterward each other and aid people who are struggling.

Identifying similar influencers through tools similar Unamo or Buzzsumo and reaching out to them volition start the ball rolling but exist certain to have a goal and compelling reason to maintain contact so that information technology is a reciprocal relationship and not one-sided.

18. Know What'south Viral

Keeping up to appointment with things happening in your manufacture can be the difference between becoming popular or sinking into the groundwork. Those with a deep understanding of what is happening in their earth can create videos that are current and interesting to those researching the niche. But this knowledge of your industry also helps you identify viral content as it happens and then you can share information technology with your post-obit before anyone else. Being the outset to share information will identify y'all as a leader in your field, leading to more exposure to your content and more than views.

FAQ about getting views on Youtube

What counts as a view on YouTube?

A view counts on YouTube when a user intentionally plays a video and watches it for at to the lowest degree 30 seconds. Echo views also stand up to a sure indicate (around 4-five views), after which YouTube stops counting repeated playback from the user's account or device.

Where is the best identify to share YouTube videos?

In that location's no one all-time place to share your videos, as you can become a bigger attain by distributing them on multiple platforms. Here are some websites where yous can share or promote your YouTube videos:

  1. Reddit
  2. Facebook
  3. Instagram
  4. Twitter
  5. Pinterest
  6. LinkedIn
  7. Quora
  8. Medium
  9. Digg
  10. Personal website/blog
  11. Newsletter
  12. BoredPanda
  13. Niche forums
  14. Wimp
  15. Stumbleupon

How do I share a YouTube video from my mobile?

  1. Open the relevant YouTube video.
  2. Tap the "Share" icon and re-create the video URL.
  3. Paste the URL on the platform where yous want to share the video.

If yous cull to share the video on a specific platform, tap on that platform's proper noun instead of copying the video URL. Then select the contact you wish to share the video with, and let YouTube handle the remainder.

Your Plough

There yous have information technology: 18 ways to get more views on YouTube!

In summary: Outset, focus on creating bang-up content that your target audition volition love.

Then do your all-time to optimize your content and channel, and promote your content through other channels.

Lastly, become involved in your niche community and nurture relationships with your viewers!

Which one of these tactics are yous going to use first to go more than YouTube views? Go out a comment beneath and let us know!