How to grow your channel, gain subscribers and build your community?

Is there a recipe for success on YouTube? The answer is simple - no. Running a YouTube channel, taking into account the number of videos shared every hour, and breaking through with your content, is a challenge for every creator. Reaching the audience and developing the channel requires work, commitment, time, knowledge of how the platform works, and a bit of luck. YouTube is a place for everyone, but success is not guaranteed in advance. However, from a different perspective, creating and developing a channel on a platform where people spend a billion hours a day may be the best place to promote yourself, your brand, company, or services. YouTube, referred to as the second-largest search engine in the world, is a platform where you can quickly find information on various topics. This gives great potential and attracts more and more new creators.

"CONTENT IS THE KING"
As it is commonly known, good content is the basis for existence and success on the platform. Creating interesting and valuable content sought by viewers and good quality materials, is the best method of building a channel and its position. What matters most is the idea - what our channel will be about, what its theme will be. Will we be an educational creator? Do we want to share knowledge or do we go into entertainment content? Generally, these two categories of content are the most sought after on the platform. It is worth considering to whom we want to direct our content, what is our goal, what problems we want to solve, what viewers' questions we want to answer. The answers to these questions will enable us to build a strategy and create an action plan necessary to get started. Content that solves your audience's problems is a great way to drive more traffic and expand the channel's reach.It is also important to remember that our message should be specific and concise. Let's not waste time. The better the content, title and thumbnail, the greater the chance of popularity. The more likes, comments or shares, the greater the reach of our channel. And that's what we're all about.

CHANNEL ADJUSTMENT
Another important element of building and developing a channel is its visual appeal. A professional look, eye-catching thumbnails, organized playlists, division into sections, logotype, trailer, and description of the channel, will tell a lot about us to the person who has just discovered our channel. These elements can also decide whether the viewer will find our channel interesting and whether they will subscribe. It's worth working on.

Thumbnails, while they may seem like a trifle, are actually a key part of discovering videos on YouTube. In combination with a good title, based on the right selection of keywords, they determine the success of the video. Videos with a catchy title and attractive thumbnail tend to rank higher in search results, even if the content itself isn't as valuable because they have a higher click-through rate (CTR). (For more on thumbnails, see How to Create Attractive Thumbnails.)

"THUMB UP"
YouTube is also a social media platform. This means that it requires the active involvement of both viewers and creators. Likes, comments, and interactions with the audience are welcomed and rewarded by the platform. Engaging with the audience, rewarding comments with a symbolic heart, or verbally encouraging them to comment is a great way to build a community. Ask your audience what topics they're interested in or what they'd like to see in the next video. Another good practice is to search for channels with similar topics and post comments under the videos of other creators. Remember to thank for comments, shares, and subscriptions. You can also use other social media to promote videos and the channel, e.g. Facebook or blog, where you can also publish videos to increase reach.

SUBSCRIPTIONS HOW TO GET THEM?
Simply, just ask for it. The YouTube community knows their value well. There's nothing wrong with asking for subscriptions. Another way is to include a link to subscribe to the channel in the description of the video, and include an interactive button that is placed on the video or on the end screens, which is easy to find and press. Getting 1,000 subscribers is the first step to the Affiliate Program (YPP). In addition, the more subscribers, the greater the chance of extending the viewing time.

ANALYTICS
Data analysis is a very important aspect of the functioning and development of the channel. The numbers don't lie, and hard data reveals objectively what content engages viewers, what works and what doesn't. Determining what viewers watch, what content is the most engaging, or how many viewers liked our video or on the contrary, how many subscribers there are, what is the CTR rate - all this is a measure and signpost for us. It gives us information about what to improve on the channel and in what direction to develop. YouTube rewards channels that keep viewers on their pages for longer. The average watch time of your videos reflects how engaged your viewers are and whether the content is interesting to them. One way to keep a viewer on your channel is to add links or tabs where they have opted out of continuing to watch the video. Thanks to this, you will keep them on your channel for longer.

FIND A PATRON WHO SUPPORTS YOU WITH MORE THAN JUST WORDS
Developing a channel is not only work, commitment, time but also money. The purchase of professional recording equipment or software requires financial outlay. We do not always have a sufficient budget. Often the passion of creation becomes an idea for life, and especially the beginnings can be difficult. The patronite.pl website comes to the rescue of creators - authors. The platform brings together creators of various fields and connects them with patrons, people who provide financial support for their development. Patrons are donors and at the same time the most loyal and engaged audience, which over time can turn into a loyal community.