Have you been uploading on your channel? Commissioned a cool logo and intro? Done everything you can and still haven’t made 1,000 subs? I’m here to show you how you can get more subscribers by your own hard work. There are so many channels out there, that you need the luck to make it. But I have a surefire way to bring subscribers to your channel, no luck required. If you want the subscribers to be active you’ll need to consistently upload better and better content. But let’s say you already do that, what next?
Business Cards
Your channel may not be your business yet, but you need to treat it like one. You need business cards. I didn’t realize the importance of business cards until I ran for a local political office. That’s another story. Breaking into politics is surprisingly similar to the entertainment industry. You need to get your name out there because others won’t remember it. Even if you’re going by in your day to day life, a card with your name on it gives you respect and can give you lots of connections and even friends. You don’t have to spend much on them and they don’t have to be fancy. I’ve seen many business cards and the more simplistic ones attracted me the most. Go to a few local office supply shops and look at their rates. All you need is your name, channel name, what you are, and social media handles. If you can afford it you might as well get a stack of your name and phone number for personal interactions. Always keep a few cards with you at all times. Refrain from using them as scrap paper.
Campaigning
I’m telling you, building subscribers this way is just like campaigning for politics. Most of you haven’t done that, but let me tell you that it’s the most uncomfortable thing you can ever do. You need to go out there and talk to people. You will be rejected time after time and you have to just smile. Let me give you a tip: Don’t sell yourself. If you go up to someone and immediately hand out your card or start telling them what you’re doing, they’ll leave or mumble “I’m not interested.”. You need charisma. “But, I don’t have charisma! I’m awkward.” So am I, but if you want this, you have to get out of your comfort zone.
Sometimes you can just walk up next to someone and make casual jokes to open up a conversation. Other times at parties or charity events, you can just walk straight up to someone, shake their hand and ask how they are enjoying themselves. If it goes well, you might run into their friends as well. You segway into the topic of work and ask what they do. People will reciprocate and ask you what you do if you ask them first. You are taking advantage of societal pleasantries. You can tell them what you do for your normal job if you have one. But then gloss over how you “have a YouTube channel too”. In order to keep the conversation going and/or out of curiosity, they will inquire. Boom. You’re in and you can tell them about it. When you part from them, leave them your business card.
I learned these techniques from pure trial and error. You could practice these anywhere, but charity events and business conventions are the best places to go. People are open to conversations and want to act professionally. Not to mention there are often lots of free stuff and general perks to going to these. In my hometown, I got free food almost everywhere I went. Take my advice, you won’t regret it.
Collaborate
Collaborations are not just for big channels. Now it’s not likely you’ll be able to collaborate with a channel much bigger than your at first. But collaborating with another small channel can create a sort of web. A viewer goes to this other channel and likes the content, they see your collaboration, so they go to your channel. Doing a few collaborations can create the web needed to funnel viewers to your channel. All the better if one of those channels become big and in turn, help you. To learn more about collaborations on YouTube, check out our article In the Mind of YouTube Collaborations.
Alas! There is another type of collaboration I’ve wanted to talk about. Ego personalities. Egos on YouTube refer to an alter-ego character. These have increased in popularity and in a way have become a popular type of collaboration. Collab with yourself. Some popular egos on YouTube are
- Jacksepticeye’s Antisepticeye
- Markiplier’s Darkiplier
- Draw With Jazza’s French Jazza
- Pewdiepie’s Gloria Boger
- Colleen Ballinger’s Miranda Sings
- Lilly Singh’s Parents
You can even have your egos collaborate and have lots of fun. Markiplier uploaded this video he created with Jacksepticeye and lots of other YouTubers where everyone has egos. It gained 11.6 million views. People love alter egos and it can really add some depth to your channel. You don’t have to create one right away, but it does significantly help you keep the viewers you already have.
Go out there and get those subscribers. See you on the recommended list.