How to Promote a YouTube Channel

Last Updated: May 10, 2022 Tested

This wikiHow teaches you how to promote a YouTube channel. Competition is fierce on YouTube with more than 300 hours of content being uploaded every minute. In order to be views and subscribers on YouTube, it is essential that you promote your channel the right way.

Steps

1
Carefully select your keywords. Keywords are the terms someone enters into a search engine to find internet content. Think about what terms a person might type into a Google search to find your YouTube channel. Test these search terms, as well as variations to see what sort of content they pull. Whenever possible, include those keywords in the titles, descriptions, tags, profile information, annotations, ect ^{[1]
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2
Fill out your YouTube profile info completely. Be as descriptive as possible. Tell people who you are and what your channel is about. Include links to your email, social media profiles, websites, and blogs. Be sure to include as many keywords as possible to improve your Google search rankings.

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3
Create enticing video titles. Video titles are among the first things a viewer sees about your videos. The title should give the viewer a reason to watch the video. Keep the title short and sweet. Do keyword research and include keywords within the first 66 characters of the title^{[2]
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4
Create eye-catching custom thumbnails. Video thumbnails are also one of the first things a viewer sees. Quality thumbnails can entice the viewer to watch the video. Good YouTube thumbnails include the following ^{[3]
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- Close-up's of video subject or the host's face.
- Title overlays with bold text and outlines.
- Bright colors and backgrounds.
- Subtle branding (logos and watermarks in the corners).
- 1280 x 720 image resolution.
- JPEG, GIF, PNG, or BMP formats.
- Under 2MB.
5
Include a Call to Action in the video. A Call to Action (CTA) is when the video encourages the viewer to do something. A call to action can be done in the end card of the video, directly by the video host, or left in the video description. The most common calls to action on YouTube include encouraging viewers to do the following:
- Like and subscribe.
- Share the video.
- Hit the bell icon for notifications.
- Watch more videos.
- Leave a comment.
6
Schedule videos to be published regularly. Creating a schedule for when you publish videos gives viewers a reason to subscribe to your channel and lets them know when they can check back for more content. YouTube's algorithm prefers content that is produced often. If you can publish content daily, great! If your videos take longer to produce, try to schedule them to be published weekly. Include the video schedule in your channel profile.
7
Create a playlist. Creating a playlist is a good way to organize your video content for your viewers. It will make your videos easier to find, and improve your search rankings. You can also include other people's content in your playlists to try to snag views for your own videos.
8
Create a blog or website to promote your channel. Creating a blog and/or website is a great way to expand your promotion strategy beyond YouTube. Be sure to to include your keywords on your blog or website. This will not only double your Google search presence, it will make you look more professional.
9
Promote your video on social networks. In addition to creating a blog or website, it's also a good idea to create social media pages for your YouTube channel. You can share your YouTube content on your social media pages, as well as attract more viewers. You can also share your content in other social media communities. Be careful not to spam. Engage with social media communities before sharing your content. Make sure the content you want to share is something the community would be interested in, and stay engaged after you share your content.
10
Allow video embeds. Allowing other users to share your video is a great way to increase your exposure. You have the option to allow video embedding when you upload a video. You can also turn on video embeds in the video manager on YouTube.
11
Cross-Promote. Promoting yourself on YouTube is a lot of hard work, but you don't have to do it all alone. Look for other content creators that you can cross-promote with. You can appear with other content creators on their YouTube channel and vice-versa. You can also cross-promote with other brands and social media communities. If your channel gets enough views, you can even look for sponsors to bring in a little extra income from your YouTube channel.
12
Engage with people. Whether you are promoting yourself in the YouTube comments section, on a social media page, or as part of a larger community, get involved with it. Read and respond to the comments section. Talk with people on your social media pages. Get involved with the community that your channel is a part of. If you do a YouTube gaming channel, get involved with the larger gaming community.

Community Q&A

Question

What is a thumbnail?

Aasim

Top Answerer

A thumbnail is the first thing a viewer will see before watching a video. Make sure that the thumbnail is eye-catching, but also that it gives a general idea on what the video is about. If your thumbnail is misleading, then it may be removed.