Free Ways to get more YouTube Subscribers

Every YouTube creator dreams of seeing that subscriber count skyrocket. It’s not just about the numbers—it’s about building a community that values and engages with your content. You pour your heart and soul into your videos, hoping to connect with more people who appreciate what you do. 

In this blog, we’re diving into some awesome, free ways to get more YouTube subscribers. Whether you’re just starting or looking to take your channel to the next level, these tips will give you the boost you need!

Ways to Get More YouTube Subscriber

1.Optimise your YouTube Channel

1st things 1st. Let’s start with the basics. If you are looking for ways to get more YouTube subscribers, optimising your channel is the 1st thing you need to do.

Luckily, YouTube lets you optimise your channel easily through YouTube Studio. Let’s start with Channel Branding. To optimise Channel branding, open YouTube Studio and select the Customisation option from the left menu.

Now select the “Branding” section from there.

Profile Picture:

Add a Profile Picture for your Channel. This picture will be the image that represents your channel. You can add a high-quality picture of yourself or a logo. 

You should use a profile picture of at least 98 x 98 pixels and 4 MB or less. And it should follow the YouTube Community Guidelines.

Banner Image:

The banner image is the image that appears atop your channel. YouTube recommends adding an image that’s 2048 x 1152 pixels and 6MB or less.

Video Watermark:

The video watermark appears at the right-hand corner of the videos. The watermark is clickable and people can subscribe to your channel using that. You can choose to display the watermark at the end of the video, entire video or you can choose a specific time.

Now you have completed the Channel Branding. Let’s move to the “Basic Information” section.

The Basic Information is a section that many YouTube Creators ignore. But, it is somewhere you can optimise your channel to get the expected outcomes.

Channel Description:  

Many YouTube creators add a very short channel description. But, that’s not enough. Imagine a Viewer checking out your channel before subscribing and reading your Channel description to get a quick idea of what he/she will gain if they subscribe to your channel. If you have added a description that has only a few words, vague and doesn’t provide a clear picture, viewers will not want to subscribe to your channel at all.

Here is what you should mention in your channel description,

• Channel Overview: Mention the channel name and what the channel is about.
• Topics you cover: Add a list of the topics you usually cover on your channel.
• Who your channel is for: Mention your target audience. Who are you targeting when you upload the videos? For example, if you have a cooking channel, your target audience could be people who want to learn how to cook, people who are searching for food recipes..etc.
• A Strong Call to Action: At the end, add a powerful Call to action asking the people to subscribe to your channel. 

Check out our channel description:

“Welcome to DigiFix, your go-to YouTube channel for learning digital marketing! We’re a digital marketing agency based in Australia, dedicated to teaching you digital marketing in the simplest ways possible. Whether you’re a student diving into the basics, a freelancer looking to enhance your skills, or a seasoned marketer keeping pace with the latest trends, we’ve got something for you.

Explore a wide range of topics with us, including Search Engine Optimization (SEO), content marketing, social media strategies, the exciting world of Artificial Intelligence, graphic design, personal growth, and comprehensive web design and development. Our goal is to bring you the most current and trending concepts, helping you not just learn but excel in the digital sphere.

👉 Subscribe to DigiFix and join our growing family. Stay ahead of the curve, sharpen your skills, and transform the way you engage with digital marketing. Let’s thrive together in this digital era!”

Add external links to your channel:

This is a great way to promote your brand’s online presence using your YouTube channel page. You can add your website links, and social media profile links in this section and let your viewers check out those platforms as well. 

Here is how to add external links to your YouTube channel:

1st Open YouTube Studio.

Select “Customization” from the left menu.

Select the “Basic Info” section.

Go to the “Links” area.

Click the “Add Link” button

Add a Link Title. For example, If you add the Facebook link, Add “Facebook” as the title.

Then enter the correct URL.

Finally, click “Publish”

2. Use the Video Spotlight Feature on Your Channel

In the previous step, I have explained the Customisation options and I am pretty sure you are familiar with that already. Shall we take a look at another cool option YouTube allows us to use?

If you go to the “Layout” section in YouTube Customization settings, you will notice the “Video Spotlight” feature.

There you can Find two different settings such as,

• Channel Trailer
• Featured Video

Add a Channel Trailer:

The YouTube Channel Trailer is similar to a movie preview! It helps to hook your audience and grow your channel.

YouTube allows adding a channel trailer to let the non-subscribers learn what they can expect from your channel and why they should subscribe to your channel.

There won’t be ads playing on a channel trailer unless it has paid promotions or sponsored content. It’s better to create a Channel trailer that is 30 seconds to 60 seconds. You need to be extra creative and make it persuasive to attract the viewers to your channel.

How to add a Channel Trailer? 1st you need to publish the trailer video as you normally publish YouTube videos. Then head to YouTube Studio’s customization settings. Then select “Layout” and there you will notice the Video Spotlight feature.

Then click the “Add” button (refer to the below image.)

Then select the Trailer video you uploaded and click “Publish” to save the Channel Trailer.

Add a Featured video for returning subscribers:

The Channel Trailer is for the people who haven’t subscribed to your channel yet and the Featured video is for your returning viewers who have already subscribed to you. 

You can add any video as the featured video and let the returning subscribers watch it. It will appear at the top of your channel when a subscriber visits your channel. 

If you are curious about how to get more subscribers on YouTube, it’s better to use these features (Many creators ignore these by thinking these are not effective. But it’s essential for growing your YouTube channel)

3. Don’t forget YouTube SEO

YouTube isn’t just a platform for watching videos; it’s the world’s second-largest search engine after Google. Just as we regularly turn to Google for answers in our daily lives, we also rely on YouTube for many of our searches.

Whether it’s learning how to cook a new dish, fixing a malfunctioning laptop, or mastering a skill we haven’t yet acquired, YouTube is often our go-to resource.

So, if you need to grow your YouTube channel, you must be familiar with YouTube SEO and learn how to optimise for YouTube search. Here are some strategies you can follow to align with YouTube SEO.

3.1 Do a Keyword Research:

If you are familiar with SEO, you know how important keywords are to get a higher rank on search engines like Google. Since YouTube is a part of Google, the YouTube algorithm works similarly to Google.

The whole purpose of conducting Keyword research is to find out what people are searching on YouTube. When you know the answers to that, it is easy to create content aligned with those to reach a wider audience. But how can you do keyword research?

Luckily there are some ways to find keywords for FREE!

Let’s say you are creating a video about How to make a chocolate cake. You need to identify what your target audience is typing on the YouTube search bar when they want to learn how to make a chocolate cake. Go to YouTube and search “How to make a Chocolate cake.” As you type, YouTube will suggest the relevant topics that people are searching for.

Here are the suggestions I got,

• How to make a chocolate cake at home
• How to make a chocolate cake without an oven
• How to make a chocolate cake for a birthday

This is a great way to identify what people are actively searching for on YouTube. Apart from that easy method, you can use many free tools like Google Ads Keyword Planner, Answer the Public, and Google Trends to find what people are searching for relevant to your niche.

3.2 Name your video file using your target keywords

Search engines don’t analyse the actual content of your video; instead, they crawl the source code associated with it. By including your target keyword in the video file name, you help the YouTube algorithm identify and process that keyword when the video is uploaded.

For example, if your target keyword is “Guide to Gardening,” your file name should be “guide-to-gardening,” followed by the proper video file format, such as MOV, or MP4.

3.3 Add the target keyword to your video title

The “Video Title” is one of the 1st things your viewers notice about your videos. Identify the relevant keywords by using the methods I have explained in 3.1 step. You can add the exact keyword or something that is closely related. And make sure to keep your video titles as short as possible. 

3.4 Optimise Video descriptions

A well-crafted video description effectively describes the purpose of your video. With a maximum limit of 5,000 characters, it serves two key functions:

Attracting Viewers: An engaging description compels users to click and watch your video.

Enhancing Searchability: Including relevant keywords helps the YouTube algorithm accurately identify and promote your content.

To optimise your video description, consider the following guidelines:

Include many relevant keywords throughout the description to improve your video’s visibility in search results.

Encourage viewer engagement by adding Call to Actions such as subscribing to your channel, visiting your website, booking a consultation, or purchasing a product.

By following these strategies, you can maximise the reach and impact of your YouTube videos.

Check out more YouTube SEO Tips: Click here

4. Pay attention to YouTube Analytics

You can learn so much from the Analytics of your YouTube channel. If you are looking for ways to get more YouTube subscribers, how about learning some basics of YouTube analytics? Here are some metrics you need to pay attention to.

Watch time: The total minutes viewers have spent watching your YouTube videos. If your video has a higher watch time, the YouTube algorithm assumes that it is valuable content and recommends the video to many YouTube users.

Audience retention: Percentage of viewers who had watched and left your video at every moment of the video. If a video has a higher audience retention, the YouTube algorithm ranks it higher in search results.

Unique viewers: The estimated number of different people who watch your videos over a specific time frame. This metric is essential for understanding the true size of your audience.

These are only a few metrics. But YouTube Studio shows many analytics about your channel performance. Regularly monitoring the analytics is essential to grow your channel. 

5. Promote your channel on relevant online communities.

This is a cost-effective way to promote your channel and grow your subscriber base. You can expand your audience and connect with viewers who might be interested in your content.

These online communities could be online forums or social media groups that are relevant to your niche.

For example, if your channel focuses on gardening, you can join gardening forums or Facebook groups where people discuss gardening tips and techniques. Share your videos when they’re relevant to the conversations happening in these communities.

If you have a tech-focused channel, participate in relevant subreddits like r/technology or r/gadgets. Provide value by answering questions, and when appropriate, share your videos as a resource.

Always follow the rules of the community. Some groups have specific guidelines about sharing content, so make sure you’re not spamming or coming across as overly promotional.

6. Use clickable subscription tools for your videos

YouTube has several built-in clickable tools to help you increase the number of subscribers.

End Screen:

An end screen is a still image that appears at the end of your video. It’s an excellent opportunity to remind viewers to subscribe or to include another call to action, like watching another video.

You can add an end screen to any video during the upload process, provided the video is longer than 25 seconds. You can also go back and add end screens to your existing videos, which is an excellent way to start converting viewers into subscribers using your current content.

Brand Watermark:

The brand watermark is an extra subscribe button that hovers in the bottom right corner of your video. You can customise when this watermark appears, ensuring that viewers have an easy and consistent option to subscribe throughout your content.

(We have explained how to add a watermark in the 1st step)

With these tools, you can make it easier for your viewers to subscribe to your channel, helping to grow your audience more effectively.

7. Create Custom Thumbnails

Creating custom thumbnails for your YouTube videos is essential for attracting viewers and reinforcing your channel’s brand.

A thumbnail is a 1280 x 720 pixel still image that acts as the cover for your video, much like a mini movie poster. It’s often the first thing potential viewers see, making it your best opportunity to persuade them to click on your video.

Custom thumbnails are a key part of your channel’s branding. They help convey to new viewers who you are and what your content is about. Consistent, professional thumbnails can set you apart from others and create a cohesive look across your channel.

Aim for uniformity in your thumbnails by using the same fonts, and colour schemes across all your videos. This makes your content instantly recognizable and strengthens your brand identity.

YouTube recommends using images that are 1280×720 pixels, which is a 16:9 aspect ratio. 

The file should be 2MB or smaller, and you can save it as a .jpg, .gif, .bmp, or .png file. 

Following these guidelines ensures your thumbnail looks sharp and high-quality on any device, whether it’s a phone, tablet, or desktop.

By creating eye-catching, well-branded thumbnails that meet YouTube’s technical specifications, you increase the likelihood that viewers will click on your videos and recognize your content at a glance.

Creating custom thumbnails is one of the best ways to get more YouTube subscribers.

8. Use cross promoting method

Using the cross-promoting method is one of the powerful ways to get more YouTube subscribers. You can promote your YouTube channel across various platforms where you already have an audience.

Share your YouTube content on platforms like Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and your own website. Wherever you have a community, let them know about your YouTube channel.

This could be as simple as mentioning your YouTube channel in your Instagram bio or embedding a video feed on your website’s homepage.

Posting a teaser or short clip of your latest video on social media is also a great way to draw people to your YouTube channel. For example, you can use Instagram Stories to share a quick trailer or teaser of your video and guide viewers to your channel with a Swipe Up link.

By consistently cross-promoting your YouTube content on different platforms and using teasers to build excitement, you can effectively drive traffic to your channel and grow your subscriber base.