How I Grew My YouTube Channel

How I Grew My YouTube Channel

I cannot believe it. I checked my YouTube channel early yesterday morning, and I could not believe what I saw. My YouTube channel, the budget equestrian, has just reached 5000 subscribers! What?!?!? Really?!?!?! Holy cow!!!!! And after I closed my mouth, I realized how incredible this really is. And I wanted to give a big thank you to all of you who have watched my videos and subscribed to my channel. Because of you, I have reached 5000 subscribers, thank you to each of you who have subscribed to my channel! But you may be wondering how did I grow my channel? How did I get to 5000 subscribers? That’s what I want to share with you today, how I grew my YouTube channel.

Reality Check

I started my YouTube channel way back in September 2014. That means I have been on YouTube for just over 3 years. When I started uploading videos, I thought that my videos were the best of the best. I thought just by sticking up a few videos on YouTube I would gain thousands of subscribers every day. But in reality, that didn’t happen.

I was not consistent with the videos that I uploaded. And while the video topics were ok, I wasn’t that great on camera (I know, shocker). I had heard that it takes time to build a following, and you needed to create a lot of great videos that are searchable on YouTube. But I thought my channel would be different. I thought if I just made some videos, everyone would watch them, and I would be an instant YouTube success.

That didn’t happen.

And when I saw I wasn’t growing on YouTube, I decided to actually dedicate some time to my channel. This really sunk in for me about 18 months ago. And in July 2016 I had grown my channel to 500 subscribers. Do you see the length of time that had passed? From September 2014, through July 2016 I reached 500 subscribers. And after that, something magical happened.

How I Have Grown My YouTube Channel

Then I got serious with my channel. I began to create videos with a purpose. I developed a schedule of when I would upload, along with a lot of ideas for new content. Every week I would upload at least 3 videos. I created a schedule and built playlists.

After doing hundreds of hours of research (watching YouTube videos) I cam up with a formula:

And this formula seems to be working. I am not an expert, but by staying consistent with my videos, and remembering these things, I have been able to grow my channel from 500 to 5000 subscribers in the past 16 months. That is huge! When I look back through my videos, and see how many I have uploaded, along with continuing to make improvements I can see that this formula is working.

These are the first things that are important to think about. But I also wanted to share with you 5 tips that have really helped me to have my channel continue to gain views, and subscribers.

Tip #1 Learn What Works and Repeat

If you have a video style or type that seems to be working, do it again and improve it. If you add in an intro, or change your filming style and your views increase, that means it might be working. Keep doing that, and also keep improving your videos.

Every time I make a video, I try to add something new. It might be a fade in the video, or changing the angle of where I film. I just keep adding new elements that challenge me as I am recording and editing my videos. It works! If anything, you will improve your video and editing skills.

Tip #2 Find Role Models and Experts

On my YouTube journey, I have watched thousands of videos on how to get better. How to improve thumbnails, how to create channel art, or how to engage your viewers. There are thousands of videos showing you how to do this. And there are a few experts I would highly encourage you to watch and learn from.

Brian G. Johnson is a fantastic teacher. He has a lot of videos that will help you to produce better content for your channel. He even has a Patreon page that you can join and get even more tips. He has written a couple of books, my favorite being YouTube Ritual.

Roberto Blake is another creator with a TON of educational videos that will help you along your own YouTube journey. He inspires you to “create something awesome everyday.” And if you follow his advice, your channel will grow.

Tim Schmoyer (I don’t know if I spelled his name right!) has a YouTube channel called Video Creators. And he has hundreds of videos to help you improve your channel. He also has a great podcast to listen to which is very helpful.

These are just 3 of the channels that I subscribe to in order to help me get better with my own channel. If you want to grow your YouTube channel, I would highly encourage you to watch their videos, and put the tips they offer to use in your own video production.

Tip #3 Embrace Your Originality

You are the only you there is. Embrace that. Create original content, on your own way. This will go so far on YouTube! Be yourself! If you are fake, people will see this, and you won’t last. Just be yourself, and be original.

Tip #4 Stay Consistent

This is the most important tip I can offer you. You will hear it over and over and over again. Be consistent! It works! Remember when I told you I started my channel in 2014? Remember when I told you I didn’t start to see real growth until 2016? This is when I started to be consistent with my channel. If you are consistent, people will watch your videos. Try to upload at least one video per week. You want to stay relevant. And how can you be relevant if you only uploaded 3 or 4 videos a year? The answer is, you can’t. Develop a schedule and stick with it.

Tip #5 Do What You Love

This is so important. If you don’t love the subject you are talking about, it will show. You have to love what you do! This is why I focus on horses and DIY projects, I love it! For example, right now I have 3 spiral notebooks full of different video ideas. I just get an idea, and I write it down. Some of the ideas are great, and I start working on them right away. Some of the ideas, I make a video but it isn’t quite what I wanted it to be, so I save it to work on later.

But if you truly have a hobby you are passionate about, this is what you want to have your channel be about. If you are passionate, it will come through in your videos, and you will have a lot of ideas for videos. Sure you can do something a little different from time to time, but you really want to stay true to what got you started in the first place. If you find yourself losing your passion or drive for the topic, maybe think about making a different channel.

Just Start

The biggest tip I can offer you is that if you are thinking about starting a YouTube channel, just start. Do it. Stop coming up with excuses of why you can’t start today, and figure out how you will start today. It doesn’t matter if your first few videos suck. The point here is to just start. The more videos you make, the better you will become. The more thumbnails you create, the better you will become. The more titles you write…I think you get the idea. Just start. You will probably do better than I have, if you just start.

Learn all you can while you are in the process of making your channel. Dedicate a little time every single day to your channel, and before you know it, you will be like me and have 273 videos under your belt. And with every video you make, you will get better I promise! If you don’t believe me, go back and watch one of my first videos, and compare it to my latest video.  If you just did that, it’s ok if you laugh or cringe at my skills, I know I did!

But remember, if you are passionate about something and want to share that passion with the world, YouTube is a fantastic platform for you to do this. The only thing stopping you from succeeding is you.