YouTube watch time is CRITICAL when it comes to channel growth and audience engagement, whether you’re a new channel or a seasoned one… Fortunately there are easy ways to improve your content to boost audience retention and maximize your views (and if you’re new, get 4000 hours so you can unlock that sweet sweet partner program!)

Here are 5 easy tips to increase your watch time:

1. Study your audience retention scores to see what’s working

In the analytics section of your dashboard, the audience retention scores will tell you exactly when viewers are clicking out of your videos. Study these scores to see what videos held your viewers’ attention and what exactly your audience wants to see.

This video will help you understand how to read the data more easily.

No one wants to watch just talking-head videos, that would put people to sleep. How do you fix this? Make your videos more engaging – change up the visuals, keeping things fresh & interesting so people keep watching.

You can add visuals by using jumpcuts, adding music to your video, using motion titles or animated titles and using a video structure.

Focus on quality over quantity. To get viewers to watch an entire video, you have to give them a video that is worth watching. If you’re making the same kind of videos they can find on a dozen other channels or recycling old ideas, then viewers may click out of the video as quickly as they jumped in. You must make sure to give them the kind of videos they can’t find anywhere else.

Experiment with a few different video styles until you find the one your viewers enjoy.

4. Hook your viewers within the first thirty seconds

For a view to be counted, the person watching the video has to stay on it for 30 seconds and longer. This is the main time you have to get the viewers hooked to your video, so you should plan an engaging video intro.

Start by introducing yourself for new viewers to feel welcomed. Then, you should include a call-to-action and tease the end of the video.

Working with other channel owners in your field is a win-win situation because everyone gains subscribers and views. Moreover, both audiences are already interested in the topic. 

How do you collaborate? You create two videos – one for your channel and one for another creator (you should be in both videos). Just make sure to ask viewers to check out the other video and subscribe to collaborator’s channel.

If you are looking to gain views quickly on your YouTube videos then you can start your campaign with us here: 

5 Easy Ways to Increase Watch Time for better Ranking on YouTube

Every YouTuber sets out with the goal to get their channel monetized and start generating income. This may look like a daunting task to accomplish, but trust us it’s not.

Once you get from 0 to 100 subscribers, just repeat the process for the next 100!

Uploading frequently is the best way to get fans coming back to your channel. YouTube tends to suggest videos to viewers based on the number of videos they watch on a particular topic/channel. Make a schedule and keep your viewers informed about it.

The biggest mistake millions of content creators do is that they don’t focus on improving their SEO. YouTube uses your videos metadata (Title, Description, Tags) to show your videos to viewers searching for content. Aligning your metadata with your content gives YouTube the necessary information to display your content to viewers with similar interest and thereby increasing your chances of conversions.

It takes just a few seconds for a viewer to decide if they want to click on your video or not. A stunning thumbnail can swing the likelihood of a viewer clicking your video in your favor and there by increasing your views. Learn how you can make stunning thumbnails 

Cross-promoting on various other platforms is very rewarding as it can help you reach different audiences in matter of just a few posts. Instagram, Facebook and TikTok are really good in promoting your content and will help you gain more traction on your channel.

Once you hit 100 subscribers, just repeat and get to 1000 subscribers.

How to get your first 100 Subscribers

Every year, YouTube makes several changes to it’s channel monetization policies. Even if your channel is monetized, every video is reviewed individually. If you’re monetizing on YouTube, it’s important that your channel follows YouTube monetization policies, to protect viewers, advertisers, and copyright holders alike.

Here’s how to ensure your video will be monetized:

1. Your channel must be eligible for monetization

To be eligible for monetization or to become a YouTube Partner, your channel must meet certain criteria. You have to have at least a thousand subscribers and 4000 hours of watch time in the last 12 months. Check 

, for YouTube channel monetization policies.

Here’s a video tutorial on how to enable monetization for your YouTube channel:

2. Make sure the videos are advertiser-friendly

If a video isn’t advertiser-friendly, then YouTube can’t run ads on it. Without ads, your videos can’t be monetized.

When creating a video, ask yourself if the content could be considered family-friendly. Basically, advertiser-friendly videos are suitable for everyone and avoids strong language, partial nudity, violence, promotion of drugs and sensitive topics.

To make sure your videos are monetized and are making money, you need to ensure that you have enabled ads on them.

This video will help you step by step on how to get ads on your videos:

Want to gain more views on your videos and stand out from the crowd? Click this link: 

3 Steps To Get Your Video Monetized

Getting subscribers is a lot more challenging than what it used to be back in the days. Apart from creating great content and being consistent here are a few tips that will help you grow your subscribers:

1. Turn your watermark into a subscribe button

This strategy is a cheat code for getting subscribers. Chose a watermark that will stand out, attracting viewers to subscribe to your channel.

Your YouTube channel trailer can be a huge driver of new subscribers. if it’s done the right way. The TOP Formula helps ensure that your trailer actually converts.

arget Audience – It is very important to start the video by letting people know who your target audience is. This will help them understand if they are interested in your channel and whether they should subscribe. Eg – does your channel help mom’s get in shape? Or is it a channel that helps people become better public speakers?

rigin story – Here you can explain why you created the channel. This will help your viewers to relate to you and make you stand out.

itch to subscribe – Here’s where to ask the people to subscribe to your channel. This will give them a little push that they need.

When you take the time to interact with your loyal community, it encourages audience participation and results in a larger fan base.

4. Strong Channel positioning and Branding

Write a one sentence description that describes what makes your channel unique or different. You can add your channel positioning in your channel art, your about section, your animated logo and more. Here’s a perfect example:

5. Use the “Next Video” in your end screen

When someone is done watching a video, they wonder what’s next. And when you feature a video as the “Next Video”, you give them a clear answer to that question. This helps in increasing your total session time and video views, which helps with video SEO. Keep in mind that the next video is similar to the current video.

Audience retention is a big deal for SEO. And it also impacts the number of subscribers that you get. Your goal is to keep audience retention to 100% because this means that viewers are watching your video all the way through your video. The better your audience retention, the more views you’ll get and in return more subscribers as these videos will have a higher chance of showing up in the Search and Suggested location on YouTube. Here are some tips to increase your audience retention:

Pro Tip – Always end your video by genuinely asking people to subscribe to your channel, if they liked the video. Giving them a call to action helps them in making a decision!

Want to make your videos gain more views and stand out? Start here: 

How to Get More YouTube Subscribers in 2020

A thumbnail is like the cover of a book for your videos. It’s the first thing viewers see and judge if your video is worth watching, this makes or breaks your video’s potential to gain thousands of views.

Here’s what you need to do to create a stunning click-worthy thumbnail:

1. Take still images while shooting your video

YouTube auto-suggests thumbnails, but it doesn’t know what will hook your audience and make them click. Shoot images that convey emotion, people are instantly hooked to images of people displaying emotion.

It just takes a second for a viewer to make a decision to watch or ignore your video. Use a bright image and add text and graphics to summarize your videos title. Choose colours that complement your image, adjust the contrast and brightness to make your thumbnail eye-catching.

The minimum width of your thumbnail should be 640 px. However, YouTube recommends a big video thumbnail size of 1280 x 720 px and an aspect ratio of 16:9. Make sure to keep it under 2 MB.

Make thumbnails which are consistent across your channel and use your channel’s logo/brand in it. This makes it easy for viewers to recognize your content almost immediately setting your channel apart from your competitors.

 is a great platform to create your thumbnail. It has a ready made library of templates tailored for different YouTube categories.

How to make click-worthy Thumbnails

Good branding can help viewers identify your channel and set you apart from the rest. Strong brands are easy to recall because of their uniqueness and consistency. Create a brand that is simple, visually appealing and something that represents you. Make sure to adhere to 

Here are 4 places where you can share your brand on YouTube:

It is your profile picture that is displayed on your channel page, as part of your in-video subscribe buttons and to other viewers when you comment. Choose a square or a round image (no GIF’s) which is 800 x 800 px.

You can edit the icon only using your computer, watch the below on how to change your channel icon.

This appears on the top of your channel. This is the largest adverting space of your brand, use it to create a unique feel to your channel. You can also add social media icons in this section. The recommended size is 2560 x 1440 px.

Once you upload your banner, check how your banner will load on different devices as YouTube will scale the image based on the browser and device.

This is the about section in your channel. It helps in people understanding more about your channel and also helps YouTube ranking your channel higher. Place keywords in the first few sentences of your description by writing about your channel’s content. Include your upload schedule, social media links and contact info (optional).

This is a small video trailer when viewers enter your channel. Use it to give your viewers a preview of your channel and make them hit the subscribe button. Make a short video about your channel that will hook your audience and create a lasting impression.

Tip: Use YouTube analytics to pick your best videos and cut scenes which have the highest retention.

Looking to get more views on your videos? Click here: 

YouTube Basics: Channel Branding

Gaming channels are the second most popular genre on YouTube and starting your gaming channel now means you will be sharing the space with some of YouTubes giants like PewDiePie, Markiplier and elrubiusOMG.

The niche Entertains, Educates and Inspires making it a 2nd only to music for views.

Here are a few tips which will make your audience coming back for more.

Focus on telling a great story. Every video should have a framework you would like to work around. Have an objective you would like to accomplish, for example like a walkthrough of a level in the game. Once you have a framework for your content, everything will fall in place.

Fans want to see something new from you from time to time. The key to get them hooked it not to get them bored by making repetitive content.

You can try something new by either collaborating with fans or other youtubers, serial content, unboxing videos or even personal vlogs.

Original Gamer creates content based on weekly collaborations and series.

They are your biggest strength; they will be a big part of your YouTube journey. Give them a sense of belonging by replying to their comments, give your most loyal fans a shout out, invite them to play a game with you or have an exclusive Q&A session with them.

It’s crucial for you to communicate your content to your audience, Reddit, Twitter, Facebook are great to reach new fans and keep your existing fans hooked to your content. Reddit is a very powerful platform for gamers as it can help you attract tons of new followers.

Having a good social media presence will help you accelerate your channels growth and engage more with your fans.

How To Build a Kick Ass Gaming Channel – Part 3

Gaming channels make up more than 30% of the top 20 subscribed channels on YouTube. According to statista.com, 31% of video uploaded on YouTube fall under the gaming category, which is the second largest category after People and Blogs.

YouTube’s gaming ecosystem is diverse and competitive. This 3-part series is aimed to gear you with all the basic knowledge you will need to get your channel rolling.

Anyone can buy a game and camera, set up a YouTube channel and start uploading videos. To set yourself apart from the rest you need to have a unique personality of your own which will help connect with your audience more than the game itself.

For a successful gaming channel, the creator is the star! Let your real personality shine. Hook your audience with something funny or interesting and then build on it.

Jacksepticey famous for his funny voice over and expressions.

Being original doesn’t mean doing something that no other gamer is done. It means find what inspires you and make an original version of doing it yourself. Make a list of all of characteristics that make you stand out as a gamer and think about how you can highlight them in your videos.

Try different styles and double down on what works best.

What makes YouTube unique is that it breaks down the wall in between and invites viewers to be a part of an interactive viewing experience. This two-way communication makes it an interactive viewing experience. Fans consider their favourite creators to be like friends.

Go beyond the game and address your audience, successful creators always find ways to address their audience, the more you speak to them the more comfortable you will feel and make it easier for them to relate to you and support your work.

Reply to comments, use common hashtags that’s unique only to your audience or refer to them with a special name. Create a lingo or gestures that your fans can feel that they are a part of something exclusive.

Looking to get more views on your videos? Click here: 

How To Build a Kick Ass Gaming Channel – Part 1

Verifying your YouTube account unlocks several benefits at once. It allows you to upload videos longer than 15 mins, add custom thumbnails, live stream and appeal content ID claims.

Uploading longer videos and streaming live on YouTube helps you substantially increase your watch time and make the algorithm work in your favour.

Here’s how you can verify your YouTube account in just a few steps:

The easiest way to access this page would be by using a laptop or desktop. Click the following link to go to the verification page – 

If you are using your mobile phone to verify, use this 

Enter the phone number you would like to receive the code on (Kindly note only 2 accounts can be verified per number).

YouTube takes your phone number to protect you against spam and community abuse. YouTube ensures that your number will be confidential.

Enter the 6 digit verification code received on your number and hit “SUBMIT”. Your account will be successfully verified.

If you don’t receive your code you can go back and re-enter your number

Now you can upload longer videos or start your live stream.

Would you like to grow your Channel? Click here to learn more – 

How to Verify your YouTube Channel

It is 2020 and you have started your brand new YouTube channel and created a high-quality video which you are ready to upload.

The key to moving your video up the search results depends on 2 important factors:

Your video’s metadata. ie. your title, video description and tags

Your video’s engagement. ie. likes, comments, watchtime

Here are 3 must do’s to optimise your video when you upload it.

YouTube is a search engine and you should approach it the same way as optimizing a website.

Here’s how you can find the right keywords.

Find keywords related to your video.You can do this by brainstorming or simply by using YouTube’s Search Suggest where you can input a word/phrase in YouTube’s search bar and it will give you a list of most user searches for the keyword.

Pick a popular video in your niche and use VidIQ’s Chrome Extension to find keywords a video is optimized for.

Once you’ve got the list of keywords use them in your Title, Tags and Video Description will help YouTube understand and analyze your content, making it easier for your video to reach the right audience.

A video’s thumbnail is the most important when it comes to viewers actually clicking your video. It is the first thing they see as it gives them the sense of what they can expect and if it is worth investing their time in watching it.

Having a thumbnail which is well lit, catchy and has some fun graphics will increase click-through rates almost instantly.

Use the 80/20 rule, where you spend 80% of your time in promoting your content. The best thing about social media is you cross-promote your YouTube video on different platforms. Posting your video on Instagram, Facebook or Pintrest is the easiest way to grow your audience. Making small teasers or posts will boost your views and increase your visibility.

Would you like to grow your YouTube channel with us? Start here: 

Blog

5 Easy Ways to Increase Watch Time for better Ranking on YouTube

How to get your first 100 Subscribers

3 Steps To Get Your Video Monetized

How to Get More YouTube Subscribers in 2020

How to make click-worthy Thumbnails

YouTube Basics: Channel Branding

How To Build a Kick Ass Gaming Channel – Part 3

How To Build a Kick Ass Gaming Channel – Part 1

How to Verify your YouTube Channel

How to build a high quality YouTube Channel in 2020

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