- 1. Run a Giveaway to Get More Subscribers<\/a><\/li>
- 2. Brand Your Channel for a Strong First Impression<\/a><\/li>
- 3. Make a Channel Trailer That Hooks New Viewers<\/a><\/li>
- 4. Design Thumbnails That Get More Clicks<\/a><\/li>
- 5. Write Descriptions That Boost Views and Subs<\/a><\/li>
- 6. Add a Subscribe Watermark to Every Video<\/a><\/li>
- 7. Post Longer Videos to Improve Watch Time<\/a><\/li>
- 8. Add a Clear Subscribe CTA at the End<\/a><\/li>
- 9. Stick to a Consistent Upload Schedule<\/a><\/li>
- 10. Showcase Your YouTube Feed on Your Site<\/a><\/li>
- 11. Partner With Creators to Grow Your Audience<\/a><\/li>
- 12. Turn Blog Posts Into YouTube Videos<\/a><\/li>
- 13. Reply to Comments to Build Community<\/a><\/li>
- 14. Share Your Videos Across Social Media<\/a>
- <\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n
- Paid-for subscribers are often just bots.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Bot subscribers don’t engage with your videos.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- You risk alienating your actual audience, who likely values authenticity and transparency.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- YouTube could ban you for going against their Fake Engagement Policy.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Brands are looking for genuine engagement and will avoid you like the plague.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
More importantly, it’s not worth the time, effort, and potential fallout to go down that route. Instead, build a free and authentic YouTube following with these genuine hacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How to Get Subscribers on YouTube<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Looking for more legitimate ways to grow your YouTube subscribers? Follow the tips below to learn how.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. Run a Giveaway to Get More Subscribers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Giveaways are one of the fastest ways to grow your subscriber count \u2014 especially when you make subscribing part of how people enter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People love giveaways because not only do they get the chance to win a great prize<\/a> they get to engage with channel owners too. Giveaways are also an excellent way to celebrate milestones on your channel, like reaching your first 1,000 subs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"Learn](\"https:\/\/rafflepress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/giveaway-contest.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nYou can quickly run a giveaway on YouTube<\/a> using RafflePress<\/a>, the best WordPress giveaway, and contest plugin, while cross-promoting the giveaway on your blog. Let’s take a look at how to get one up and running.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First, grab yourself a copy of RafflePress. Then download and install the WordPress plugin<\/a> on your website. If you need help, check out this guide for installing WordPress plugins<\/a> here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With RafflePress installed, hover over the RafflePress icon and click Add New<\/strong> to bring up the pre-built giveaway templates<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now give your contest a name. You’ll want to select the Grow Your YouTube Channel template, then click Use This Template to set it up<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"Use](\"https:\/\/rafflepress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/grow-your-youtube-channel-giveaway-template-2.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe next screen you’ll see will look similar to the one below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"YouTube](\"https:\/\/rafflepress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/rafflepress-youtube-giveaway-template.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nFor the pre-built YouTube template, RafflePress automatically adds actions users can take to enter your giveaway on YouTube. By default, the 2 actions are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Watch a Video<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Visit a YouTube Channel<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
You can make either of these actions mandatory by toggling the Make Mandatory<\/strong> option and allowing people to enter daily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"Make](\"https:\/\/rafflepress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/watch-a-video-make-mandatory.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nBut these are just the default actions for this particular giveaway template. RafflePress has many other ways you can let people enter your giveaway. Further actions include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Following or visiting other social profiles.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Joining an email newsletter.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Automatically entering.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Visiting a URL.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Referring a friend.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Completing a survey or poll<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Answering a question.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Submitting an Image.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Posting a Tweet.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Watching videos on Facebook or Instagram.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
You can even invent an entry action of your own<\/a> if you’re feeling creative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But since we’re focused on getting more YouTube subscribers, let’s stick with the default YouTube giveaway<\/a> template actions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The next step is to add the URL of the video you want people to watch into your action settings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"Enter](\"https:\/\/rafflepress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/enter-youtube-video-url.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThen do the same for the Visit a YouTube Channel<\/strong> action, pasting in the URL of your Channel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alternatively, you can add your subscription confirmation URL to RafflePress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not sure how to find your YouTube subscription link? Don’t worry; we’ll show you how.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First, go to your channel’s homepage, then add ?sub_confirmation=1<\/strong> to the end of your channel’s URL.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here’s an example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
RafflePress’s YouTube Channel URL looks like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCPtN7xV_892Pa6AcoOYzbAg<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
After adding the extra details, it will look like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCPtN7xV_892Pa6AcoOYzbAg?sub_confirmation=1<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
When someone visits this second URL, they’ll see the following confirmation box:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"Confirm](\"https:\/\/rafflepress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/confirm-channel-subscription.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThis bypasses the extra step people need to take to click the subscribe button. Instead, they just need to confirm they’d like to subscribe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With this done, go ahead and finish the setup. This guide has everything you need to know about setting up a giveaway with RafflePress<\/a>, so you’ll be up and running in no time at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. Brand Your Channel for a Strong First Impression<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
A consistent brand makes your channel easier to recognize and helps viewers decide if your content is worth subscribing to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A well-branded channel provides visitors with helpful information and helps you become easy to recognize across the web. Plus, unbranded channels look dull and won’t inspire anyone to subscribe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 2 most important branding aspects are your channel art and channel icon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- The channel icon should ideally be 800 x 800 pixels<\/strong> in size.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- The channel art size should be 2560 x 1440<\/strong> pixels.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Both should clearly define your brand so visitors know exactly what they’re looking at and what to expect from you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/rafflepress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/wpbeginner-youtube-branding.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWPBeginner does a great job of branding its YouTube Channel. They use the WPBeginner mascot and logo in their icon and have channel art that clearly states what you can learn by watching their videos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. Make a Channel Trailer That Hooks New Viewers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Something else to add to your branding checklist is to create a trailer for your channel. Your trailer is the first impression for new visitors, so use it to tell people what your channel\u2019s about and why they should subscribe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can feature your trailer in the YouTube welcome module, which sticks to the top of your channel and offers a great video marketing<\/a> opportunity for you to hook viewers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Videos in this space play automatically, so when people land on your page<\/a>, your trailer auto-plays, explaining who you are and what you offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- The channel art size should be 2560 x 1440<\/strong> pixels.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Can You Buy YouTube Subscribers?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
A popular way to get more people on your follower list is to buy YouTube subscribers. You might think this is the best hack to reach that all-important 1,000 subscriber goal so you can get paid. But the truth is, it can do more harm in the long term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I strongly suggest you DO NOT buy YouTube subscribers for the following reasons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- 2. Brand Your Channel for a Strong First Impression<\/a><\/li>