From Views to Subscribers: Navigating YouTube Growth

Thousands of video views will not grow a channel. You need subscribers for that. Subscribers mean people are interested in your content and are willing to come back for more.

View counts do not grow channels. In order for a channel to grow, a channel promise is more valuable than a subscription plea, because now your viewers know what your channel will provide in the future.

The process begins with discovery, then retention, then trust, and finally a useful next step.

From Views to Subscribers: A Practical Guide to YouTube Growth

If people are not finding your videos, you won’t be able to hold their attention and you won’t be able to give them a reason to come back. Retention and trust do not magically happen. A sequence of good content usually does more to help a channel grow than a simple call to action, like subscribe.

There is no one defining conversion rate of views to subscribers. Audience intent is normally the biggest driver for how people respond to a call to action. Track how many subscribers each video brings in vs. how many views each video had.

For instance, a video with 10,000 views and 100 new subscribers earns 10 subscribers per 1,000 views. Compare that number across videos with similar subjects and formats. A video with far fewer views may be far and away the best topic to build an audience.

Sequencing and retention are the best methods for channel growth, in addition to content overall. The subscription request only counts once people understand why your content is good enough to come back for.

Create a Promise Audiences can Trust

A first time viewer should have an immediate understanding of what your channel is about. Summarize your channel promise in one sentence which provides the audience, the subject, and the outcome. “Simple home workouts for busy parents” provides more value than “fitness, lifestyle, and motivation.”

Your promise will provide a framework of how you will make channel decisions around topics, formats, tone, thumbnails, and channel titles. Videos don’t have to be clones, but they should belong in the same channel. Imagine you have a channel that publishes beginner camera tutorials. If afterwards, a viewer subscribes, and you then post a random restaurant vlog, you would lose that viewer.

A user should be able to answer the following questions when on your channel.

1. Who is this channel for?

2. What does it publish?

3. Why should viewers return?

Your channel’s primary image (banner) should have your promise and your anticipated upload frequency (if applicable). Pick a profile image that will remain readable. Once you have this, place three to five playlists (your strongest subjects) on the channel main page.

Consistency does not mean you need to post every day. Consistency means your channel has a defined purpose that is recognizable with each post you publish.

How to Make Content That Captures Attention and Avoids Viewer Drop Offs

Attention – Retention – Subscribers. If the viewers leave your videos before your main point, they miss your chance to build your expertise and personality, and your chance to earn another chance to be viewed (potential subscriber).

Start with the outcome, the problem, the tension. The next 3 seconds need to show that your click did not mislead your viewers. If you have a video on sharpening dull kitchen knives, showcase the sharpness test or before and after results, for example. The alternative is for your viewers to stop watching.

Don’t waste your viewers’ potential time with your logo animation, greeting, and background that doesn’t give a reason for your viewers to stay. Tell them what they will get, then give it. If what you give does not answer your main point or provide a reason for you to make this video, then make the next reason your main point.

In YouTube Studio, check out the opening clips of your high performing videos, then check out the audience retention graph and average percentage viewed, and check out the comments. A sharp drop after the intro probably means your viewers stopped watching because the promise or main point eventually showed up.

Density matters. You can have enough context to instruct, but your viewers need to see clear progress. If your video has the potential to solve a problem and has visible results, your viewers are more likely to watch your next video.

Use Calls to Action That Give Viewers a Reason to Subscribe

“Subscribe for more” provides a vague incentive. Effective calls to action provide a description of incentives.

Place the prompt after the strongest value moment. This incentivizes the user to subscribe because the user already has value from the video. Add one final prompt with a description of the value the user can expect in the next video.

Use something along the lines of:

“Subscribe for weekly tutorials that take your product photos from amateur to professional.”

“This is part one. Subscribe for the editing workflow in part two.”

“Want to learn about budgeting minus the finance lingo? Then subscribe for more.”

Final prompts should be straightforward and to the point. You can get away with voice prompts when coupled with a small on-screen cue, channel watermark, and end-screen subscribe button. Don’t get too spammy with reminders. Users get annoyed quickly and typically end up forgetting the call to action.

A comment can also be pinned to the video. Provide a link to the next video, playlist, or series episode. The call to action to subscribe should be the sole focus of the comment.

Additional prompt:

“If you want to learn how to budget, go ahead and subscribe for our budgeting lessons.”

Make One View Into A Long Session

Probably not the video that you just uploaded that is your viewer’s next best watch. It is the video that continues what they just watched.

Example: If the video they just watched was “How to Start a Podcast With One Microphone” you have the option to suggest they check out the channel and watch a video about correct recording settings, or perhaps a video on How to Edit your first Podcast episode. Never send them to an introduction of your channel, be relevant!

To make the video suggestions easy, use End Screens and place them in the last 20 seconds of the video. Here you can suggest one video that relates to what they just watched, as well as place your Subscribe button.

Suggesting the next video of the series that they just watched, and placing it at the End Screen, can help provide context to the viewer. If the next video of the series is numbered, place the number in the description of the video for the user convenience, and perhaps place it in a card or a comment if it is allowed and acceptable.

After the video is published you have the capability of answering the comments users post, especially the first written comments. A great first comment to answer can be a suggestion as a question. An example can be, “What was the most difficult step to you?” Viewer suggestions can help you create new content. “

Connect Shorts, Long Forms, and Community

Shorts have a unique ability to really help your channel get exposure, but it unfortunately doesn’t bring viewers. There needs to be some sort of bridge for your shorts to take effect for getting viewers.

Make the short and longer videos centered around the same problem. When needed, give the full tutorial, put the related-video link, and pin a comment explaining what they will see next. A prompt that says “watch my full video” is not as effective as “The full video shows the three settings that fix this problem.”

Longer videos build more trust because they allow for demonstrations and more context and video results. They are often the best places to make a benefit-led subscription request and direct viewers to related follow along series.

Community posts help to maintain interactivity until the next upload. Doing a poll helps gauge interest for future videos. A still from the videos, a helpful behind-the-scenes look, and asking relevant questions can also be posted. Relevant viewers will be introduced to both channels with collaborations when both channels share an audience need.

Outside of that, promotions can be used. A helpful video clip can be used with an insight posted on a newsletter, website, or social media. Send interested audience members to the best fitting video.

Prioritize With Analytics | Watch for Growth

How do you utilize 90 days of footage from YouTube Studio? Take a look at your three highest viewed videos versus your three videos with the most subscribers gained. They rarely, if ever, line up and can provide insight to help you see and understand what areas you had the most success in.

Look at subscribers per 1k views, click-through rate, audience retention, traffic and end-screen clicks, and see where the viewers came from. Think about whether they came from Search or other areas such as the Browse feature, Suggested videos or the Shorts feed, etc. A viewer from the Search tab may be looking for a single answer. A viewer from the Suggested videos may be looking for something related.

What did top subscriber converters have in common?

a. Did you address a problem and give them a solution?

b. Did you show the payoff in the first few seconds?

c. Were the results more concrete and faster?

d. Was the call-to-action prompted at a useful moment?

e. Did the end screen direct them to something very related?

Only do one change at a time. Test if new thumbnails with a stronger opening and better end-screen recommendations drive engagement across multiple videos before changing other variables. Allow the tests 30 days before you take a look. Rapid changes in channel content creates chaos and makes it difficult to read data.

Stop Using Growth Tactics That Consist Of Attracting Viewers Who Don’t Ever Come Back

Although some types of clicking have a huge impact on viewer count and can attract short-term interest, they are just temporary fixes to your lack of subscribers and can actually confuse potential subscribers. People lose trust in your channel when you employ these ‘quick fix’ tactics.

An empty social profile lacks the visual evidence of a community. Utilizing growth services like Snaphappen can help establish initial visibility, though these tools should never act as a substitute for high-quality, relevant content. For video creators aiming to build an audience, these services might offer a starting point for gaining traction and new subscribers. The process begins with understanding the specific offerings available and ensuring that any engagement is managed with a focus on long-term channel health.

When posting Shorts, subscribers don’t really see an outlet to view the other form of your content and as a result get stuck with no way to find your content.

There are numerous people and services that will sell you fake engagement and subscribers, so it is not worth buying these. If you have a channel that has a lot of subscribers but little to no real engagement, then there is no point to analyze the analytics for the channel. A channel needs real viewers, not subscribers.

Follow a posting schedule that you know that you will be able to follow and repeat posting certain content. Especially if that content has been successful in the past. If your theme and type of content stays the same, people are more likely to recognize your channel, but with new examples and better execution you can avoid being repetitive.

Conclusion

YouTube relies on initial attention to convert users to trust and then turn trust into repeat viewing and subscriptions. The most powerful channels do well by communicating promises, showing value early, and clearly indicating to audiences their next steps.

Do an audit of the last 90 days and use this time to redesign your channel page and improve one of the proven channels that brings the most audience to your page. Afterwards start a related series where you give something new audiences have no choice but to like and subscribe to.