YouTubers who have been creating content for their audience for years understand the importance of YouTube subscriber count. The number of YouTube subscribers isn’t just another metric that you can brag to your friends and family. It’s a requirement for you to earn money off the platform.
If your goal is to become a professional YouTuber, you’ll need to go beyond producing insightful, entertaining and long YouTube videos. You also have to get people to click the subscribe button.
Achieving subscriber milestones is required to gain access to the platform’s monetization features. Your channel should have a minimum of a thousand subscribers if you want to qualify for YouTube’s partner program.
Take note, though, that the 1,000-subscriber requirement is the bare minimum. You should aim high and go beyond that, as the more subs you have, the higher you rise on the platform’s fancy benefit level ladder.
If you’re having trouble bumping up your YouTube subscriber count, read this guide to discover how to get people to hit that subscribe button.
How to Gain More Subscribers on YouTube
When we say “gain subscribers,” we don’t mean buying them. This subscriber growth hack is a violation of the platform’s Terms of Service. If YouTube finds out that you’ve been artificially growing your channel, the game is over for you because the website will surely suspend or terminate your channel.
If you want to increase your YouTube subscribe count, you’ll need to do it the right way: by encouraging and convincing viewers to click or tap the subscribe button.
The good news is that you have plenty of free ways to achieve this goal.
Here are a few suggestions that you could try:
Ask Your Viewers to Subscribe
Newbie YouTubers typically upload their stuff on YouTube without requesting anything from their viewers. This is a rookie mistake. You need to remind your audience to hit that subscribe button.
Here’s a sample statement you could use:
“Hey guys, please like and subscribe to my channel and don’t forget to hit the bell icon to get notifications on my new videos.”
The statement is a reminder that you offer valuable content to viewers, and you’re making it easier for them to keep up with everything you do on YouTube.
Update Your Channel Art
One of the first things that YouTube users see when they check out your channel is your banner. When they’re on your page, put your best foot forward. Make sure that your banner is compelling, on-brand, clean and optimized for all devices. At the end of the day, your channel art should encourage visitors to tap or click that subscribe button.
Put Out Videos on a Consistent Schedule
If you have a knack for producing top-quality videos, you’ll want to post them regularly. Uploading videos on your channel consistently lets people know that more good content is coming, and they’re more likely to hit your subscribe button.
You don’t necessarily have to post high-quality content every day (this may result in creator burnout). You could, for instance, post once a week. Then, bump this up to two to three times a week. Just make sure that you can maintain the level of quality.
Add Branding to Your Video Thumbnails
A thumbnail serves as the cover for your video. It’s your first and best chance to persuade YouTube users to watch your video. If they love your content, they’ll click subscribe with no hesitations.
Keep your branding consistent in all your video thumbnails. Use the same frame composition, brand colors and font to subconsciously let people know that they’re looking at a video from your YouTube channel.
Adding a Subscribe Button to Your Videos
Saying “please like and subscribe to my channel” is OK, but you’ll want to do more if you want to raise your subscriber count. Apart from verbal prompts, include visual reminders in your video by putting a subscribe button to your videos.
Follow this step-by-step guide:
- Sign in to YouTube Studio.
- Then, go to Customization > Branding > Video Watermark.
- Click the “Upload” link and select the subscribe button image you’d like to use as your branding watermark. You could get one of these on Google Images. Alternatively, you could create a custom subscribe button and use that as your branding watermark.
- Feel free to customize the look of your watermark before clicking “Done”.
- Choose the display time for the watermark. You could show your subscribe button throughout the whole video, on the last 15 seconds of your video or at a specific start time.
Putting a YouTube Subscribe Button on Your Website
If you have a website of your own, you’ll need to embed a subscribe button on your site. Linking your website to your YouTube channel will enable your readers to find your video content more easily. Also, embedding a subscribe button forms a bridge between your YouTube content and your website.
Here are the basic steps to embed the button to your site:
- Use Google’s HTML embed code generator, which you can find here.
- Input your YouTube username (not the name of your channel), channel ID or user ID.
- Choose the preference and layout for your subscribe button. Google will then generate the code for you automatically.
- Copy the code and paste it on your site’s HTML.
Note: Custom website templates may require additional steps. Check with your website developer for further assistance.
These actionable tactics can help encourage people to click or tap the subscribe button on your YouTube channel. Once you’ve hit your subscriber count goal, don’t forget to celebrate this milestone with the subscribers who made this achievement possible.