Growing a YouTube channel.

My first 1000 subscribers & my tips on growing your YouTube channel




Back in October I wrote a blog on starting my YouTube channel and how rewarding I was finding it. Now I have reached over 1000 subscribers and thought it a good time to revisit this topic.

As I said in my previous post, if you are thinking about starting your own channel then you should jump in and give it a go. For those of you just starting, these are my top 10 tips for growing your channel :-

1. Be patient!....having a YouTube channel is not a "get rich quick" scheme, like any other business it takes time to build. Don't be disheartened by slow growth to begin with, keep working on it and set yourself goals for each year.

2. Create content that you enjoy and interests you....this may seem blatantly obvious, but if you aren't 100% engaged in your content, why should viewers be?

3. Create the best videos you can with the equipment you have available, this could be a phone,  digital camera or your computer. Watch YouTube videos advising you how to use your particular equipment.

4. Schedule your videos to a timetable and stick to it, your viewers will like to know they can rely on regular content from you.

5. Make sure your videos are well lit and that the sound is clear. Daylight is the best for lighting if at all possible.

6. If using a camera, start each recording with a full battery and sufficient storage!

7. Talk to your viewers and reply to their comments openly and honestly.

8. Think about your branding, link your channel to the rest of your social media and promote your own videos.

9. Create eye-catching thumbnails that are clear and concise. (I use a website called "Canva" for this.)  

10. NEVER forget that YouTube is essentially a search engine. Use titles, descriptions and tags that people will be googling on your subject.

Finally, I always think you should follow the moto ....."It's a fool that never takes advice"..... there are hundreds of YouTube videos giving excellent advice on growing your channel, technical issues, lighting, SEOs etc. Use these to your advantage.



How to earn money from YouTube


Many people are unaware of how YouTubers make money from their videos. This is very dependent on your type of channel but they are mostly as follows :-

1. "Monetising" your YouTube videos so that adverts appear alongside them, you receive a small revenue from Google (YouTube) who are in turn paid by the advertisers. This is not a huge sum and varies from day to day and video to video, but is a good passive income.

2. Adding associate links to your video descriptions. You can become an associate for a retailer such as Amazon and receive a small fee for referrals and purchases. Again this is not a huge amount to begin with, but grows as your channel grows and is an easy way to make passive income.

3. Selling your own products. If you sell your own products, you can promote them and add links on YouTube.

4. Increasing the profile of your existing business. Compared to other social media, YouTube has a much wider reach and can be used to promote your business and increase sales.



   Example of an associate link


If you are new to YouTube, be aware that the monetisation takes time, you need to have 1000 views first (across your channel) and you then apply and become verified by google. You will only get paid once you reach $100.

I hope you found all that useful if you are starting a channel. Please feel free to ask any questions that you may have in the comments below or contact me directly.






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