Growing a YouTube Channel to 100,000 Subs

[Fox]

Hey everyone,

I have been snowed in at a hotel in Kazbegi, Georgia for the last few days with no sign of leaving so I wanted to start a thread I have been thinking of for a while. One regret with my original web design thread is that I didn't start sooner. It is nice when it is possible to see a progress thread from the very early stages.

With that in mind here is my progress thread on growing a YouTube Channel.

First off some background context:

I didn't have much (hardly any) experience with making videos till about a year ago. I recorded a little when I was younger with skateboarding but these were just fun skate videos. I made one "sponsor" tape that consisted of having two video players and recording clips from one into one video on the other.

So in the last year I watched some free video tutorials on YouTube, took a great video course from my friend Thomas, and got some camera gear. I made a few practice videos in 2017 of traveling but I wanted to wait till 2018 to have a proper run at things.

Camera Gear:

My primary camera is a Sony A7 with 16mm, 35mm, and 50mm lenses. This is the camera I use for most of the cinematic shots within my videos. I am new to cameras but so far this has been great to use. The menu is super easy to navigate, very easy to use, and after a day or two it feels very simple to operate.

I also got a proper mic that connects to this but the sound actually isn't that amazing. Still working on this. Good sound is a crucial part of having a video that is enjoyable for people to watch.

Alongside the main camera I am using a Sony RX100 for the "vlog" style shots. It has a flip over screen that is great for seeing yourself as you film so you know what is in frame. Also a cool feature of this camera is super slow mo which is around 250 frames per second. It is really nice for some amazing video.

Other cameras I use are a DJI Mavik drone and a gopro (4 I think!!?). The drone I use a fair bit but I have crashed two already so I am a little more cautious than when I first started! The gopro hardly ever. They are quite annoying to operate although the video can look really good when you go to the hassle.

Editing:

I am using premier on a mac. Really easy once you play around with it. Again I was a complete beginner with this but some courses and free tutorials later and I feel like I know a few tricks. Still so much to learn on this but I will pick it up over time I am sure.

So that is the actual camera gear covered.

----------

Actual Video Format:

The aim of my videos is to inspire people to start learning web design, teach them how to sell their services and grow a business, and show them what its like to be your own boss. Web design is a cool job since you can work from anywhere and you don't need much equipment or set schedule.

I don't see anyone making "cool" web design videos - there are tons of boring tutorials but they lack any character or fun. I am aiming for part inspiration and part education.


YouTube:

It seems a huge challenge with YouTube is just getting the initial traction. By studying a lot of other channels it seems once they break through to around 5000-10,000 subs they start growing a LOT faster. I think the main goal for any newcomer should be to focus on nailing the format for producing great content and growing that core audience first. Once you lockdown the basics and hit 5k subs it should start to grow itself quite naturally if your content stays high quality.

Since I am so new I am still learning on creating a good format for each video. I have two general styles I like so far...

Vlog/lifestyle style - this is like a short video that is more focused on what goes on behind the scenes. I am using a 4/5 minute format with a cool intro, talking mid section, and nice outro. This is a great format to start with since its fun to watch and also quite easy to produce. Since you won't be talking as much as other formats it means you don't have to rely as heavily on voice only content.

Tutorials/talkative videos - these are actually surprisingly a lot harder to produce. You need to have a solid storyline/tutorial that can capture attention and keep it over 5-15 minutes. Usually these are going to be dialed in on a very specific topic. Since so much of YouTube is people searching for a topic the better you can match that exact search the better your engagement.

Right now I am doing a bit of both and working on becoming a better speaker and also delivering as much value as I can in an engaging way. I feel like I know my topic really well but the challenge is in communicating that as best as possible.

YouTube Hacks: Just like an system there are ways to improve you odds at success. Youtube has a bunch of different ways to improve engagement. These can be clickbait titles, the thumbnail pics, using video tags, channel tags, getting views to do an action (like/comment), running competitions, and much more.

So far I haven't been focused on this too far. I don't want to have some clickbait style channel and ovetime people usually will drop off if your content isn't delivering. Better to start small, make great videos, and improve your content while your channel is still small.

One thing I have been playing with those is the video tags. I will do a full post on this soon since there is a lot you can do here to improve your videos performance.

At the end of the day YouTube is just a platform and your main business should be your primary focus. That being said it seems to allow for a lot more natural growth in a short amount of time compared to Facebook and Instagram which I think are now primarily pay-to-play platforms. For those who manage to crack YouTube it is an amazing way to get your message out there and engage with people.

I will update this thread as I learn and grow my channel. If anyone else here is doing the same please feel free to join in also.

Some samples of my content so far:

Vlog style:

(travel style)

(travel/behind the scenes style)

Tutorial:

(shorter format)

(long format)

Any questions or suggestions - please let me know, thanks.

 

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[Lex DeVille]

Suggestion - could you dial back the awesome? You're making me look bad!

 

[Fox]

So have been doing a lot of research on the platform and seems like there is a "100 Rule"...



I think it is more like 1,000 subscribers but this is a good goal to aim for starting off.
I have noticed a lot of channels get massive traction once they get over 1,000 subs and start to quickly move towards 100,000 subs.

So I will keep this updated from now on each month:

>>> Current Goals <<<
Videos
Goal: 100
Current: 7
Subs
Goal: 1,000
Current: 312
Views
Goal: 100,000
Current: 4,628
Watch Time (minutes):
Goal: 500,000
Current: 22,760

 

[Fox]

The last 28 days...



Posting more consistently seems to be helping a lot.

Working really hard on getting good content that people will get value from and engage with.
Youtube puts a lot of weight on user engagement so you want to focus on material and a format that get people commenting.

I have been pushing this a little more in the videos... "comment if you...".

My last video has an average view time of 11 minutes which is crazy. It has the best response so far...

I have been studying a lot of great channels that grew really fast. A huge noticeable thing is the consistency in their branding. Similar thumbnails, title font, intro and outros, camera style, video greeting, vlog or tutorial format. As a viewer it is really rewarding cause you look forward to the same style of content you enjoyed before with some small differences. I think this is a huge difference between okay channels and great channels.

 

[Fox]

Youtube as a platform is pretty shady lately and its hard for newcomers to advance as easy as they would some years ago.

This video explains the whole thing pretty much. Power of owning everything to your name.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1if_kLguQ4

That video was hard to watch, only lasted a minute.

Anyone thinking big on YouTube isn't going to focus on monetization.
Video monetization is around $500 - $1000 per million video views.

To put that in perspective my friend has been doing YT for over a year and has well over a 100 videos with 15k subs.
His channel is on around 1.2 million views total. So his ad revenue for the year is maybe $600 - 1,200.
BUT he runs a business that gets a huge spotlight from his YT channel, growth there is in the 100s of thousands.

People like to bitch about YouTube cause its good for video views and always a relevant topic. Big channels run on outrage media so its great to have an enemy and work everyone up (more comments and playtime).

Really though YouTube is still great, its easy to grow a channel, and there are 100 ways to make money out of your own channel separate to YouTube.

 

[Fox]

Back from a pretty decent break. Trying to get a more "boots on the ground" approach where I actually show what goes on with real projects and places.

 

[Fox]

Finally making that YT cash money lol!

But it is good to be seeing progress. Average video watch time across all my content is over 6 minutes which is great.

I definitely let myself down with the YouTube goals this year though. I hope to be able to show a lot more progress in 2019.

 

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[Fox]

Newest video up.

I am testing longer format tutorial content versus shorter format more entertaining/lifestyle content. Ill have to wait for a few days to share the results.

This one is a longer tutorial-style video

Also starting to rank for some much bigger tags...



Just need one of these to hit and take off to see some massive progress. Eventually one will so its just a case of keep going and trying to always be improving.

 

[Arrived2015]

Any questions or suggestions - please let me know, thanks.

@Fox
From what I've watched and read so far, I'm sure you'll hit your 5k subscribers sooner than you think!

I'm not a YT channel creator however do watch many a YT vid and I suggest you check out Vidiq's product (chrome extension or direct install on your channel - Vidiq.com) so that you get a behind the scenes peek with any YT vid you watch.

The FREE version should meet your needs of seeing stats on :

• views per hour
• social mentions (like Twitter, Reddit LinkedIn)
• SEO (was end screen/cards used)
• video and channel tags used
• estimated earnings and other stuff

After installing, when you upload your vids, it recommends keywords to rank your vid, suggested trending vids to include in your vid tags and has an SEO 9 point checklist and of course more stuff not for me to list here.

Had it installed for a few years now and interesting to see how and what a YTuber has done to get me to view! Not forgetting me being nosey with their earnings *wink*

Also check out Social Blade( .com) website to see your ranking on YouTube, Twitch, Instagram, and Twitter! Gotta have something to look back on on where and how far you've come one year later innit? Certain you'll have moved up the social ranks this time next year.

It also gives the Who's Who's in which YT category and their ranking. Seeing who's in the top YT 50 or 100 or 500 Tubers and using the tags they use or seeing their hidden stats, may get you ranking quicker me thinks. After all why else would they be in the top ranking? Surely modeling them can be the way to go???

As a head up, If seeking to montize further down the road your YT channel with adverts, note that on Feb 20th 2018 as a starter with a YT channel, you'll need:

1,000 subscribers + 4,000 watched hours (240,000 minutes) to qualify for adverts on your YT vids

Meaning? One without the other is a no go!

More here on this new ruling is found on the YT blog here:
YouTube Creator Blog: Additional Changes to the YouTube Partner Program (YPP) to Better Protect Creators

As said above though, I'm certain you'll smash that YT qualifying requirement x2 in no time AND your 5k minimum subscriber target!

 

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[TKRR]

Found this article today... I think it is very useful information. One particularly interesting tidbit was the fact that Tags basically don't seem to matter anymore, because YouTube can analyze the video for content on its own. (scary, haha).

We Analyzed 1.3 Million YouTube Videos. Here's What We Learned About YouTube SEO

It is interesting cause I was looking up some of the keywords I was using to find stuff similar to mine, and almost none of the highest ranking videos had more than 1 or 2 tags, if they had any. There titles seemed to matter much more, but more importantly the content was better. VidIQ even gave some videos with millions of views 20 points or whatever for SEO....hmm I think there is something off there potentially. It seems a worthwhile exploration to remove tags and see what happens to a video or two.

 

[Fox]

At over 1,000 minutes of watch time a day now (16 hours).
Kinda cool stat!

I tried doing my first interview style video yesterday which went really well. Chris just got a huge sale and had tons of great insight into what a deal like that takes to close. I didn't say too much cause I want to let whoever I invite on do most of the talking.

At the moment just trying to be consistent with content but I when I have the chance I have a lot planned to get things to the next level.

 

[Ika]

Great progress so far!

When I looked at your channel, I noticed you don't have one consistent theme for thumbnails though:



Obviously, in the beginning, you need to test around what style works best, what style fits your brand the most and what style stands out in the search results.

I would really recommend keeping the thumbnails consistent though -as soon as you find one style that works. That also means going back to your old videos and redesigning the thumbnails to fit your new standard. Really simple, but will set you apart from others.

The reason is simple:

• The channel doesn't look chaotic (like it does right now)
• It's easier to recognize your videos in the "related videos" tab
• It's easier to recognize your videos on the recommended or subscription tab

Which all result in more views & loyal viewers.

Good luck!

 

[Fox]

View attachment 22297

Finally making that YT cash money lol!

But it is good to be seeing progress. Average video watch time across all my content is over 6 minutes which is great.

I definitely let myself down with the YouTube goals this year though. I hope to be able to show a lot more progress in 2019.

Made some progress since this post.



Will be finishing out the year with around 2,600 subs.

Let's see how 2019 goes.

 

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[Fox]

Okay I am back with an update.

The last few months have been hard to keep growing. The main reason is I shut down my free Facebook group which means 12,000 less people to see my videos every time they are released.

I shut down the group because it was getting low quality/spammy and was talking a lot of time away from other areas that were more valuable to be focusing on. There were just too many people for what was once a tight group with tons of value.

With the group gone the main way to gain growth moving forward is 100% YouTube SEO and audience building activities. This means the right videos, with the right topics, that provide HUGE value.

It is a challenge cause I don't ever want to get into things like clickbait or buzz topics that give me a short term spike but lose long term trust with my audience. I want to provide real last value and have people feel that any video they watched was worth their time.

The new approach, for now, is to do a value-packed video + great bonus content.

With this video, for example, there is a 15-page guide and also a free checklist.

I think the main focus moving forward will be to get into a little more general "freelance selling skills" content that can rank higher and get more views (while still being really valuable). I know what I teach can be applied to areas outside web design like SEO or video production.

This is the growth for the last 365 days...



I am hoping to do the same stats or better for next year which should put me around 40-50k subs by the end of 2020.

I'll update this thread more often now with different strategies I am using and what the response is like.

 

[Fox]

Suggestion - could you dial back the awesome? You're making me look bad!

Lol, thanks Lex. The first few videos have been mostly travel but I won't be always using that format. I think for Feb I will be doing a lot of sales content instead.

 

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[Fox]

Do you give any attention to Google+?
Are you sharing your uploads to web design subreddits?
Have you tried to make comments on other popular videos to attract some traffic?

Great job man I definitely want to see how this progresses.

Edit: Any thoughts about livestreams? The combination of Twitch+Discord is becoming very powerful (and popular).

Edit 2: I forgot about the new Youtube rules, so the question "are you monetizing your videos" is now "are you going to monetize your videos?"

I want to know your thoughts about this because it is said that if you don't monetize your videos they won't get as much exposure from the algorithm.

I would only monazite if it improves my rankings. Which I think it will.

Even with 100s of thousands of views a month it isn't that much. The better play is having a back end product or some other way of making money. Sponsorship, branding etc.

I haven't been using reddit cause I don't want to be seem to be spamming. I would like to share on the web dev reddits but I know it isn't how they wan t things over there and I respect that. I am hoping that the content gets good enough that people would naturally start to share it.

I don't use twitch or discord. I want to just focus on one channel and optimize that first. Maybe I will start a twitter but then that will be it. I got the main FB, inside FB, and YouTube so its a lot to keep an eye on.

 

[Fox]

Hit a little goal today.

 

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[Fox]

So update time:



Finally made the 4,000 hours needed (within a one year period) to monetize the channel.

I won't be much money but it is a start and I do think it helps YouTube list your videos higher.
Anyway, the goal here isn't to make money from Adsense - it is to create an audience and grow a tribe.

If you break down the 4,000 hours of content thing it means 11 hours on average are being watched every day on the channel over a year.
If I do the average of the last week though it is around 40 hours a day of videos being watched.

That is pretty amazing - I only have 22 videos total and haven't uploaded properly in a long time.
Shows the power of YouTube, even on a small scale like this.

I got a lot more to do with YouTube and I hope the next update crushes these figures.

Here are some more stats on the channel:

 

[minivanman]

It doesn't really have anything to do with your question per se but I'd like to share my friend's experience with Youtube. All of this he made public knowledge as it was happening so I am not telling any secrets. So he started making videos about 10 years ago, he worked at 7-11, mowed lawns on the side and LOVED to work out. So he started a channel talking about working out. Then he added lawn care. His baby-momma left him and left their 2 daughters with him. He got custody of the 2 girls.... they were really small when she left, maybe 1 & 3, something like that. So his channel became all about lawn care and he quit his 7-11 job. Taking GREAT care of his girls/mowing/Youtube... that's all he did. His daughters ALWAYS came 1st. As his daughters got a little older they liked being in the videos with him. Some lawn care guys in his area didn't like him and started making his life hell on Youtube so he deleted his Youtube lawn care channel but his daughters wanted to continue making some type of videos. So he started them a channel...... My GOD!!! Did that thing take OFF!!! Millions of subscribers and millions of views for EVERY video. They made 2-3-4 channels... something like that. They started making the big bucks from Youtube. He quit lawn care, they moved in to a nice new house.... life was great..... until last November..... Youtube took down their channel because they said he was making his daughters make the videos and basically using them as an income. That is not true.... they make good grades in school, he never mis-treats them and is one of the best dads I've ever seen. Now I will say this.... the videos were stupid but other kids loved them and the girls loved making them. So that is his Youtube story. Maybe the moral of the story is.... take what you can while you can because you never know when it will be gone. Always have aback up plan. As for him.... he LOVES mowing grass so he will probably go back to mowing or figure out a way to start another channel. He was in talks with Youtube the last I knew.

 

[Fox]

So next video is up...

So this video is a little different and has zero to do with web design (kinda). I am starting to put together a video portfolio that hopefully later in the year I can combine with my web design skills to be able to offer more services.

This was shot a few weeks ago when I got stuck in Kazbegi for a few days. I am trying to see if I can get it to rank really well for a few specific Keywords and be a case study for future video work I am hoping to offer combined with web design.

I am new to video but since I feel like I am maxing out my direct web design income (hard to go over 20k a month without scaling the business which I dont want to do) I want to be able to offer additional services. Hopefully in the future I can offer web, video, photos, branding, and also some copywriting.

This girl is a good friend of mine and also does some modelling so it is that style of video. Over time I hope to have a wide video portfolio that includes company, commercial, personal, and destination. Just like a website portfolio you want to be able to show you are capable of creative solutions.


For Feb I will be switching again and doing a lot more tutorials. I did a lot of travelling in Jan but Feb will be more of a work month so my content will mirror that.

 

[Fox]

Nice Andy, thanks for adding in stats.

So newest video is up...

I feel a little funny doing the classic YouTube style title title and thumbnail but I want to see if there is a difference in views etc. I think if you want to work on on platform you got to see what is working best for others and go from there. At the moment it is still all about experimenting for me and seeing what works best for getting my message out. I am very confident in the value of the message but I need to work on delivering it.

Cool to see a few of us all having the same goal!

 

[Fox]

Stepping up that thumbnail game!

I am really liking this new format and it is making it possible to put out a lot of great videos daily. I will keeping going with the daily content for now and see how long I can keep it consistent.

 

[Fox]

Something strange happened today...

I upload this

And right away I had a SEO score of 65+. It was showing me ranking for around 5 keywords really well.

I then edited the video and added in the end screens, a playlist screen etc. After I saved the SEO dropped down to below 50 and the SEO tags were nearly all gone. Kinda confusing since YouTube wants you to add these in but when I did that the video dropped ranking. I messaged vidIQ to get some feedback. Maybe I should be editing them before I publish to the public?

Edit...

Seems to be back working now!!?

 

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[Fox]

So Feb is over.

I had a goal to get to 20 total channel videos but fell three short...



The stats look decent for the month...





Still a small time channel but growth has been good.

Got a lot of things to work on in the future. The plan for March is to run a 20 part mini series on a lot of beginner questions and concerns. Make it really simple for people to get their first sale and get going.

I really need to work on branding and production but this will take some time to implement.

All in though very happy with my first proper month and looking forward to another.

 

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[Fox]

Results on the 2018 goals:

Goal: 100 videos
Goal: 1,000 subs

View attachment 23123

Smashed the sub goal but fell way behind on total video count.

Goal: 100,000 views
Goal: 500,000 minutes watched

View attachment 23124

Ha... one slight over and one slightly under - but very close!

Goals for 2019:
100 total channel videos
10,000 subs
1,000,000 views

Havent updated this in a while...



The channel gets around 1,000 views a day right now and between 20-30 subs.

I should make my goal of 10k subs by the end of the year.
I don't think my total channel views will be 1 million though.

This is cool though...



My average watch time on all videos is over 5 minutes each. That seems pretty solid.

One day this channel will "pop" but till then I will just keep doing my thing!

 

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[Iammelissamoore]

Haha, agree with SinisterLex, lol, your vlogs are super cool, the fact you are doing the vlogs along with the tutorials encourages consistency, which I've recognised is important.

Keep up the great work, super interesting.

 

[Van Halen]

As an unbiased comment, the vlogs are really high quality. Seems like the same standard someone with a massive following would have, really nice. As a side note didn't realise you were a Brit!

 

[Fox]

As an unbiased comment, the vlogs are really high quality. Seems like the same standard someone with a massive following would have, really nice. As a side note didn't realise you were a Brit!

Thank you.

Agreed. (Although Fox is Irish.)

Great videos @Fox. Really inspirational and different from the usual web tutorials.

How many subs do you have on your channel at the moment?


Possible sneaky tip with channels is to make up your own tag and tag all your videos with it so hopefully one of your own videos shows as the next suggestion. I tried that with my own videos.

Also... I think there's an option when embedding videos to not show another video at the end of your own. Might not work embedding into the forum.

I'll shut up now as I've only a handful of subscribers and videos myself. Will let the YouTube heavy weights give better advice.



EDIT: Whoa... I've not really done videos in over a year. I didn't realise I had 275 subs and over 100 videos on YouTube. Some videos have over 1k views too.

I also think YouTube is a great channel. I might get back into my Snapchat ways... it was fun doing those low production vlogs and ramblings.

Following your progress with interest @Fox.

Thanks, I still only have a few but its great to see people already following along.

Ya I have been checking out the seo score within YouTube. Adding end video links, title cards, and a lot more can really help the video rank well. Still picking this up.

It doesn't really have anything to do with your question per se but I'd like to share my friend's experience with Youtube. All of this he made public knowledge as it was happening so I am not telling any secrets. So he started making videos about 10 years ago, he worked at 7-11, mowed lawns on the side and LOVED to work out. So he started a channel talking about working out. Then he added lawn care. His baby-momma left him and left their 2 daughters with him. He got custody of the 2 girls.... they were really small when she left, maybe 1 & 3, something like that. So his channel became all about lawn care and he quit his 7-11 job. Taking GREAT care of his girls/mowing/Youtube... that's all he did. His daughters ALWAYS came 1st. As his daughters got a little older they liked being in the videos with him. Some lawn care guys in his area didn't like him and started making his life hell on Youtube so he deleted his Youtube lawn care channel but his daughters wanted to continue making some type of videos. So he started them a channel...... My GOD!!! Did that thing take OFF!!! Millions of subscribers and millions of views for EVERY video. They made 2-3-4 channels... something like that. They started making the big bucks from Youtube. He quit lawn care, they moved in to a nice new house.... life was great..... until last November..... Youtube took down their channel because they said he was making his daughters make the videos and basically using them as an income. That is not true.... they make good grades in school, he never mis-treats them and is one of the best dads I've ever seen. Now I will say this.... the videos were stupid but other kids loved them and the girls loved making them. So that is his Youtube story. Maybe the moral of the story is.... take what you can while you can because you never know when it will be gone. Always have aback up plan. As for him.... he LOVES mowing grass so he will probably go back to mowing or figure out a way to start another channel. He was in talks with Youtube the last I knew.

Thats unfortunate. I wasn't exposed to much/any social media growing up and I am glad I waited till late 20s to start. I think its not great for people to be using while still in their formative years.

And ya YouTube is just a platform - keep Fastlane principles in mind.

 

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[Xavier X]

Nice video, Fox. A few tips on the Georgia one:

Audio: For the voice over, when recording material like that, try not to script it completely.
Instead, list a few things you would like to touch on and just deliver it.

Visuals: When shooting scenes like 0:40 - 1:05 try not to shoot against the light, if you're not going for a silhouette effect. Some parts work, like 0:49 - 0:52. However, 0:44 - 0:47 for instance neither works as silhouette nor integration of subtle natural lighting.

Overall, nice video. Keep shooting!

That said, now tell me more about this friend of yours.

 

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[Fox]

So this is an example of my new format...

Trying to aim for something I can do daily and that has a huge amount of value.

I need to work on lighting - looks quite over exposed.

Also trying to shorted down the video length and make sure not to ramble. I think I was fine on this video but still something I always want to be working on.


First time I got a tag ranked which is a good start and now over 300 subs too. Hoping to make it to 1,000 as fast as possible so will be doing nearly daily content for the next while.