They say that the most difficult part of starting something new is to actually just get started. When it comes to YouTube, this can be very true. Especially when you post video after video without seeing any results. This can be very frustrating, having put in so much effort to create awesome content. But the fact of the matter is that it takes hard work to get views on YouTube, especially when you are starting out and have no subscribers.
So what is this hard work you need to do and exactly how do you get views on YouTube?
First, the problem is that you don’t have any interested subscribers yet. Viewers don’t know that your videos are as good as they are and neither does YouTube. If no one but yourself knows how great your content is, how are you going to get views and subscribers?
It’s something we’ve all faced when starting out on YouTube, but we need to get views at some point.
This is how to get views on YouTube with 0 subscribers.
How to get views on a new channel:
P.s. I’ve emphasized interested subscribers as this is vital for getting views. It’s actually worse for your channel if you have subscribers and they do not watch your videos. YouTube then assumes you’re making poor content & doesn’t recommend it ANYWHERE.
So, if you’ve thought about Sub4sub on YouTube, forget about it immediately so we can move on to some things that actually work.
1. Get Started Already
No one is going to watch your videos if there is nothing to watch.
No one is going to subscribe to you if you only have one video up; at least, not many would. Why would they? They don’t know if this is the style of video, you make if you’re ever going to upload again when that would be and if they actually like you or just that one video, they’ve seen.
Get started, get creating, and upload, and you’ll be presenting more opportunities for people to find your videos.
You don’t have to upload daily, but YouTube’s algorithm rewards those who upload regularly.
If you can stick to a schedule and keep it pretty regular, there’s a good chance that your videos will start showing up in recommended tabs and on potential viewers’ home screens.
You’ll also learn more by doing than by just contemplating what if. What if I started a YouTube channel last year? Well, you’d have, at the very least, a year’s worth of YouTube experience already.
2. YouTube SEO
I’ve already mentioned one of YouTube’s most discussed topics, the algorithm.
YouTube’s algorithm ranks your videos for search results & recommends them on similar videos to your own. You see, YouTube is for entertainment & also for information.
It is the 2nd largest search engine in the world… Second to its parent company Google of course. This means you can get video views by asking yourself a few questions.
- What is it that people are looking for in my niche?
- Is my content based on these topics?
- Can I offer something of value to these potential viewers?
If you can answer these questions positively, you’re going to be able to get views with Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
This is optimizing your videos so that search engines, in this case, YouTube, rank your content higher than others.
You can do this with YouTube by implementing several methods.
3. YouTube SEO Checklist
- Add longtail keywords to your video titles.
- Use longtail keywords in your video descriptions.
- Create thumbnails that clearly emphasize what your video is about & make viewers want to click through.
- Tag your videos with the related keywords & search terms.
- Include keywords & search terms in your profile.
- Create playlists & adding applicable videos to them.
This may seem like a lot of work, but you can make things easier by using TubeBuddy.
TubeBuddy offers a range of plans, but the free version includes a powerful browser extension that makes keywording and titling your videos a walk in the park. It’s a tool that all YouTubers should be using, regardless of channel size.
By implementing good SEO practices, you’re telling YouTube exactly what your videos are and how to find them. Unless you’ve got millions of subscribers, optimizing your videos is a must in order to get your channel growing.
4. Take Advantage Of Social Media
BUT I DON’T HAVE ANY FOLLOWERS ON SOCIAL MEDIA!
Don’t worry, that’s not where I was going with this anyway… Although, it wouldn’t hurt if you had some followers to promote your YouTube video to.
Even if you don’t have any followers on social networks, take advantage of some of their features.
Instagram is great for short clips & you can rank quite easily for Hashtags & get your content in front of people. You can then drive those people to your YouTube videos!
Add videos to IGTV, include your YouTube video or channel in the description & get viewers to visit your channel from there!
Pinterest is a great way to drive traffic to your blog or directly to your YouTube channel. If you’re solving their problems, you’ll get longer watch times & your videos will rank higher on YouTube = more views.
Facebook is great for shareable content. If you’re creating entertainment, food, travel, etc. clips on Facebook can be used to get people over to your YouTube channel.
Look into these channels & see how you can use them to drive viewers to your channel. A lot of the time you won’t even need to create extra content for those channels if you plan things out in advance. For example, you could cut a 30-second clip from your YouTube video for Instagram, or take out a 2-minute piece for Facebook & use that as a trailer for your video.
5. Reach Out To Your Community
If you’re creating videos about food, you’re most likely already a part of Facebook groups, Reddit communities & other food-related communities. This means you can easily find out what your ideal audience wants to see, and once you’ve made it, you can give them your link.
This doesn’t mean you should just spam your link throughout groups. Provide value by answering questions, engaging in conversations & being a part of the community.
Some groups have days where you can share your post, but it generally works best when someone asks a question. You can then provide some value with an answer & then give them more information by directing them to your video that covers that topic. You’ll probably even gain a couple of subscribers that were too shy to ask themselves.
It’s not just Facebook & Reddit though, Quora is a great site for finding questions to answer. By providing good valuable answers you’ll be regarded as an authority in the field & when readers value your answers, they’ll be shown as the featured answer.
Quora questions are usually quite high ranking in Google as well, making them a great source of very targeted traffic. This is especially useful if you have a product or service associated with your YouTube Channel or website.
6. Connect With Bloggers
An often overlooked, yet highly valuable, way to get views on YouTube with 0 subscribers is to reach out to bloggers in your community.
Many bloggers don’t make video content because of a number of reasons. It may be something they do not believe in or have the time to learn, or they may just be too shy to step in front of the camera. This is an excellent opportunity for you to provide them with quality content.
Have a look at their contact or work with me page to see if they allow guest posts. If they do, read through any guidelines they may offer & then pitch them your video idea.
Some bloggers may be alright with a short 300-word post along with the high-quality video link, but others may prefer if you would present the content in the video in written form as well.
If writing isn’t your strong suit, contact them via email & let them know that you create quality content on a specific subject & they can feel free to embed your videos in their posts.
You could even look through some of their posts and if you find a place where one of your videos would be great FOR THEM, let them know.
Remember to provide value first, if they use your video, it’s a win-win as you will still get the views & you may have built a lasting relationship with an influencer with a good following.
7. Leave Comments
Leaving comments on YouTube videos is the definition of grinding for those views.
These comments need to provide value & be related to the YouTube video you’re commenting on. Spam comments are just going to get ignored or deleted, whilst unrelated comments are not going to get people to click on your profile to check your videos out.
When you provide value like this, your comments will get likes & rank higher in the comment section. This means more potential viewers see your comment and have a chance of clicking through to your channel. If you’re lucky, your comment may even be pinned by the video creator.
This won’t bring in a lot of views in the early stages, but that’s why I call this the grinding method. Each view will be earned because you need hundreds of good-quality comments to start seeing results. Do not spam or ask for views; provide value first and make yourself active on YouTube.
Protip: Comment on every video you watch. When you comment on a specific channel repeatedly, your comments start to rank on that specific channel’s comment section.
8. Ask For Comments
Comments add value to your rankings. So, go ahead and ask for them in your videos.
Pose questions to your viewers and let them engage with you in the comments.
Reply to comments left on your videos, and feel free to link to another video of yours if it may help in answering a comment.
9. Just Keep On Going
I know that it can be frustrating starting out, but if you just keep uploading, learning, and improving, you’ll make it eventually.
It’s a lot of hard work and if you think it’s going to be an easy ride where you don’t have to put in the effort, then I’ll save you some time and let you know that you’re not going to be cut out for this.
If you are going to put in the effort and work through the good and the bad times, then I can only say that creating content and videos is hugely satisfying in more ways than one and there’s nothing else quite like it out there.
Final Thoughts On Getting Your First YouTube Views
These tips and best practices will get you going on YouTube, bringing in your first views and subscribers.
You may even make some great connections with other YouTubers, bloggers, and influencers in your community to collaborate with in the future.
I suggest starting with these best practices before moving on to more advanced YouTube growth strategies.