Quick Tips to Grow Your YouTube Channel in 2023
Photo by NordWood Themes on Unsplash
As of 2022, there are over 51 million YouTube channels. It’s a staggering number, but the majority of YouTube channels don’t generate any content! As with most things, YouTube channels are easy to start and challenging to maintain.
Having a YouTube channel is one of the best ways to reach a wider audience, gain exposure, get outside your comfort zone, and generate more income. According to Zippia, YouTube receives over 1 billion mobile views daily, and consumer online video consumption increased by 121% between 2019 and 2022.
Key elements of a successful YouTube channel include:
A niche with a clearly defined audience
Brief titles and opening credits
Content that appeals to both loyal followers and newcomers
Consistent uploads
Quality camera, audio, and editing
High-quality content
Whether you’re just starting, reviving an old channel, or trying to level up, there’s no time like the new year to make tremendous gains. Below, we look at nine tips for growing your YouTube channel in 2023 to make it more professional, productive, and profitable.
Know Your Niche
Be specific with your niche. For example, you may generate content with a “lifestyle” theme. But as you grow your channel, you might discover that people are resonating with specific topics – say, DIY home improvement. Hone in on what’s attracting views and work on delivering what the people want!
Know Your Audience
Knowing your audience ties in nicely with knowing your niche. Engage with your viewers in the content section and get to know them. You might create with a particular audience in mind, but as you continue posting, your audience profile becomes more specific.
For example, you might discover that your audience is mainly comprised of stay-at-home moms interested in DIY or purpose-driven entrepreneurs between the ages of 25 and 35. The better you know your audience, the better you can connect.
Optimize Video Descriptions, Titles, Thumbnails, and Tags
Optimizing descriptions, titles, thumbnails, and tags goes a long way. Using proper keywords is a great way to grow your YouTube channel and see greater success. If you write blogs, you’re probably pretty familiar with SEO practices and benefits.
Optimizing for SEO means your videos rank higher in YouTube and Google searches. You should insert keywords into subtitles, video titles, descriptions, tags, categories, and thumbnails.
As a general rule of thumb:
Titles should be clear, less than 60 characters, and contain your keywords
Descriptions should be 5000 characters max, include keywords, and have hashtags that are relevant
Tags let you list all keywords, primary and related
Thumbnails should be eye-catching and pertain to your video
Research Your Competitors
Your competitors are a wealth of valuable information. Research their most and least watched videos and take notes. Deep dive into the comments section to find out why people respond favorably or negatively to specific topics.
Studying those who’ve gone before is one of the best ways to accelerate your own success. Plus, you can learn a lot about improving your thumbnails, titles, descriptions, and so on.
Batch & Schedule Videos
Batch creating your videos means making several at once. It’s more labor intensive in the short term but frees you up and lightens the load in the long term.
Choosing when to post can create decision fatigue. But sticking to a predetermined schedule will ease your anxiety and help you be more consistent. For example, you might commit to weekday evenings or weekends. The exact time matters less than posting regularly.
Be Consistent
The most successful YouTubers post every few days, but posting at least once a week is a solid strategy. With so much content available, your audience is likely to get distracted or forget about you altogether if you don’t serve up consistent content.
Utilize YouTube Ads
Just like television, you can advertise on YouTube via short ads. Ads are a great way to get your videos in front of a broader audience.
Bumper ads. Bumper ads are short ads – just six seconds long – that appear right before your video plays.
Video discovery ads. Formerly known as “in-display” ads, these are the ones you see on the YouTube homepage, search result pages, and in the “related videos” section.
Trueview ads. With trueview ads, you only pay if someone engages with your ad. This might include watching it for at least 30 seconds or taking another action.
Preroll ads. Preroll ads are 15 - 20 seconds long and cannot be skipped.
Collaborate with Other Creators
YouTube audiences love a good collaboration! Consider doing a joint video with a YouTuber in the same niche. You can interview the person, interview one another, or discuss a popular topic together.
For example, someone with a true crime channel might interview another YouTuber with inside knowledge or team up to discuss all the latest developments in a given case.
Be Yourself
Learning from other YouTubers is essential. Seeing what works – and what doesn’t – for others is an excellent way to hone your skills and avoid common mistakes. But ultimately, your unique voice, perspective, and creative flair are the factors that will drive views and loyalty.
Once you’ve honed in on your niche, gotten to know your audience, and made the most of keyword placement, settling into a rhythm and realizing your channel’s full potential is all about being yourself. As you get more comfortable, your unique offering will shine through more and more, making your channel truly one-of-a-kind.
