YouTube's 5 Tips for Growing Smaller Channels

Five pointers from a YouTube product manager to help smaller channels grow and sustain their audiences

YouTube has five pieces of advice for smaller channels that are trying to grow their audience and for new channels that are just getting started.

Experts, YouTube Product Managers, presents the advice, which is based on her four years of experience with the firm.

Part of her job at YouTube is to figure out why some channels' audiences develop and sustain themselves while others' audiences dwindle over time.

During her time at YouTube, experts claim to have evaluated hundreds of videos. These are the top five lessons she's learned regarding channel growth.

5 YouTube Tips for Smaller Channels 

Create your channel with an audience in mind.

Experts encourage smaller YouTube creators to create material that is centered on people. Consider who is viewing the channel, what they are interested in, and how their interests are likely to evolve over a six-month to a year or longer period.

Create a content strategy based on people and their interests. Change your strategies as people's interests change.

"And keep in mind that to progress, you must accomplish two things. You must first draw in new viewers, and then keep them coming back for more."

Find your niche 

With more content than ever before on the internet, it is becoming increasingly difficult to stand out. Alves suggests focusing on underdeveloped, specialized markets and filling market gaps.

Make something either better than what is already available, or something entirely new.

Watch a large number of videos 

Content makers are recommended to watch a lot of videos, just like a business owner would keep an eye on their market by conducting ongoing research.

Consider creators who are providing similar content and consider what they are doing that is working so effectively. The goal is not to replicate the videos, but to learn about what their target audience enjoys watching.  

Create a brand 

YouTube suggests developing strong branding by using a style that falls somewhere between:

•     Titles,
•     thumbnails,
•     colors,
•     graphics,
•     fonts
•     and so on

A distinct brand helps a channel and its content stand out amid the myriad options available to YouTube users these days.

A brand assists viewers in becoming acquainted with a channel and recognizing it as soon as it appears in suggestions. This can lead to an increase in the number of clicks and views on the channel's content.
YouTube advises new and smaller channels to consider what fonts, colors, and styles best suit their brand. Then, ensure that those items appear in the channel icon, channel art, channel description, and channel trailer.

Maintain consistency.

Consistency is essential for YouTube growth because it can take time and experimentation to get people into the habit of watching a channel regularly.

Creators have found success with techniques such as uploading constantly on a schedule to keep viewers coming back to watch. This allows viewers to anticipate when fresh content will be available.

Channels that keep their audience tend to keep posting videos about the same topics and themes that initially drew them in.

While YouTube channels should not be limited in their originality, some regularity will help grow viewership numbers in the beginning.