Get more views on YouTube!
YouTube, as a platform is reaching millions of people on a daily basis. A recent study confirmed that more kids are dreaming of becoming a YouTuber rather than an astronaut. Which is both exciting and worrying. At the same time, I like to say that currently, when it goes to being a content creator - you have to explain 2 things to 2 groups of people:
Older people need to get an explanation on the fact that being a YouTuber IS an actual job… and
you need to tell younger people that it’s not taking 15 minutes a day and is actually hard.
Since you clicked on this blog post, I can be almost certain that you are one of the people who want to grow on YouTube and build the life of their dreams with the use of social media. And like with everything - it’s a learning process, and sometimes it seems impossible to get those views!
We put so much time and effort into recording, editing and colour-grading our videos, but it seems as if that doesn’t give us much of an effect. How do others make it happen? In this blog post, I’ll share the 8 golden rules of getting (and keeping) viewers’ attention, algorithm tricks and more. Some of them may seem pretty “obvious” to you but let’s be honest - are you using those “obvious” things? Knowing but not doing is considered not knowing here. Now… Let’s make it happen!
1. SEO
Being a creator is not only about creating beautiful visuals. It’s also writing and a lot of SEO. If you are not familiar with what SEO stands for… it’s
S earch
E ngine
O ptimisation
Because I know… you may think that YouTube is a Social Media platform. Imagine for a minute, though - that it’s not. YouTube is a search engine. Kind of like google but with visuals. Would this knowledge change the way you title your creations? Learning to use keywords in your videos (title, description & tags) is one of the most life-changing skills. Think of all of the titles and videos you usually click or what you are searching for on YouTube. Search for the keywords that matter for your video. I’ll touch on it whenever we have an SEO-connected point, starting with…
2. The Title
The perfect title should include the subject of the video, main keyword (like Review/First Impressions/Tour/Country or city that you are visiting/product name etc.) as well as the short catchy phrase – that can be searchable.
For example:
Let’s say I want to check for some reviews connected with the product I am considering. What will I write into the search bar?
Precisely, the name of the product I am considering buying, not any creative phrase someone may come up with.
Picking up the title may seem like the most complicated part of making a video been there. But to be honest - if one of my titles doesn’t work… I pick up another one after 12 hours. How do I pick the titles and make a list of possibilities? Check out my video about creating the workflow with Notion, which is just right here.
Side tip, though:
You can add your nickname or something like a series name to the title - it’s a good practice. Just make sure you put it at the end of the title,not the beginning! Starting every video with the same text will make people assume that they have already seen it!
3. Thumbnail
Even though I just said that YouTube is a Search engine - there’s a trick to the whole thing. Many people (you and me included) will always pick a video with an excellent or exciting thumbnail. Most people don’t even look at the title but at the thumbnail first (although do not forsake the title because the algorithm looks at this). Currently, YouTube’s algorithm also uses AI to figure out what is on your thumbnail. So if it’s a review - you better show the product on it. Keep in mind that we unconsciously choose the things that, in our eyes, have higher quality. Therefore, making your thumbnails look as professional as possible is essential.
Don’t waste space for “subscribe” or like icons. Your video is there to make people subscribe and like! Thumbnail is there to make them click! Also, remember that most viewers see your thumbnails on their mobile phones, so leaving such stuff makes it all look messy. Also, be sure that if you have any titles or text on your videos - it is easily seen on the mobile as well. (Yes, without looking closely at it).
Create your thumbnails as your own. Making them look similar to each other will give you a significant advantage because if someone gets to your videos a couple of times and remembers that he or she has seen such thumbnails somewhere already – they are more likely to subscribe.
Have you ever wondered why so many people use their dramatic faces on thumbnails? It is confirmed that adding your face to the thumbnail will create a human connection with the viewer. It gives the video more personality and a human factor. Why? People like watching other people. Don’t pretend you are shocked.
Make the thumbnail invite a new viewer to watch. Make it easy to guess what the video is about without looking at the title or description. And make it yours!
Learn more about making Thumbnails here.
4. Tags in the video
I may shock you here, but as of recently, you should be using tags both in the video setup (In YouTube Studio. I am actually not sure how to differentiate and call this thing, so here’s the screenshot) and… in the description of your video (this one is easy to call). And to make it worse, it’s two different types of tags. In this point, we’ll focus on the tags in the video.
Try always to use the maximum amount of tags (or characters). But make them serious and strategic. Use the keywords that explain your video in the best possible way. If it’s a review of the cup from the hotel, which I have here, use the hashtags:
The hotel cup review, hotel cup, hotel cup first impressions, the best hotel cup, best hotel cups 2022, hotel cups 2022, best hotel cup, using hotel cup, hotel cup coffee, hotel cup tea.
You see where I am going with this, right? I am not sure if this cup deserves that much attention, but it’s a nice
How to search for the best hashtags? Go to the YouTube search bar, type what you are making a video about, and check what it recommends. You can also write the general title and use tools such as VidIQ to see what are the most relevant tags compared to the other videos. You can also go to people, who already got a lot of views on the topic, and with VidIQ check what tags they were using and how they were performing.
VidIQ is a free browser add-on, which also has a paid, powerful version that helps with the entire SEO (I mean titles, tags, description tags, thumbnails etc.) You can get the free version at any time, and I am leaving you the link to it down below in the description and the pinned comment. Also… Not sponsored. Unfortunately.
It is a really great tool, though, as it also gives you video ideas based on what’s trending right now. Which is pretty cool and may be helpful for those of you who lack ideas sometimes. (I’m totally one of them from time to time)
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5. Description tags
Now let’s move to those odd description tags. Because… what is this even!? Have you ever wondered how some of the videos (this one included) have the blue tags just above the title? Yes, this is how you do it. The first three tags from your description tags go straight right there. And make an algorithm to pick your videos when it’s the right topic. Now, those hashtags are different:
Those do not accept spaces. So they work more like Instagram tags. As I said. They are two different tag sets. I would recommend adding 5-10 tags in your description to give extra information to the algorithm about your video. Also, when you have those blue hashtags above the title, it looks fancy, as few people still know how this happens.
Since we are on the description:
6. Description
Since we are on the description… I am not over with it.
The Thumbnail, title and first two or three lines of the description are what people see in Your video first. Don’t waste its potential!
Do not add your social media links in the first sentences, nor add the abyssal “subscribe” call to action! This may make YouTube’s algorithm push your video lower in the search, which is the opposite of what we are aiming for. Consider the first 2-3 sentences as a sacred space for getting people’s attention. (if you can make a holy glow animation here - that’s great)
Be sure that the description starts with something interesting, further information about the space, and what you are reviewing, recording or doing. (And I mean to use those keywords here). Generally, if you are doing the review of
Black screen - The hotel cup title and adding the graphics for any tags and places)
THE HOTEL CUP should appear in: the title, the description, the description tags and tags. I am serious. Repeat yourself as much as needed.
Pro tip: Make it a longer and more detailed version of your title. So let’s say… your title is “The hotel Cup actually shocked me” - your description could go like this: “I heard a lot about the hotel cup before and never thought that it would be as life-changing as people thought. And… it shocked me by keeping up with its legend. Why? Let me show you”
7. Utilise the community tab - A LOT
Have you ever used the community tab? If not - this is the right moment to start. If you are not about to upload a video today - posting on the community tab is the best thing you can do. And if you can do it daily - even better. Use the graphic polls from your phone, asking people what types of videos they would like to see next, ask questions, give updates, share your video 1-2 days after its premiere, and give sneak peeks to the following videos. USE THE COMMUNITY TAB! This will show your content to more people, boost your engagement and increase your videos in search. Making your chances of people clicking the videos that much higher.
8. INTRO
And last but not least… Keep them watching. The First 15/20 seconds are the most crucial in the decision of the viewer – will they continue watching – or switch it off? Don’t waste those precious seconds on logos or the same intros. No one wants to watch that. I don’t want to watch that. And if you have the same ones in every video – it looks like I have already seen this. Use those 15 seconds to show the best moments of the video or introduce yourself and what you will do. Adding some nice shots, and making it a mini-trailer is also a great thing to do. Since it’s showing the background. Or go straight into the topic with a quick summary intro just as I did in this video (feel free to come back to this intro). Show a story!
This is just an introduction to it but be sure to let me know what other things you’d like to learn., I am here for you to provide knowledge to you and help you reach your dreams! So if there’s anything - let me know. Also, please comment down below and let me know what confuses you the most about the current algorithm or the ways of YouTube! Subscribe to my YouTube channel to learn more!
Stay awesome, fam!
