How to Promote Your YouTube Channel – 15 Smart Tips

YouTube has grown into the biggest online video platform worldwide and online destination for millions of users from around the world.

After Facebook, YouTube is the second most popular social network in terms of active users. With internet cost going down worldwide, people are consuming more video content than ever.

And the number is increasing day by day. According to Statista, the number of YouTube users in the World is projected to reach 2,854.14 million users by 2025.

To capture this huge market, many new channels are launched on YouTube every day in different niche. With so many channels, it becomes incredibly difficult for beginners to get more visibility to their channel.

So, how do you as a beginner make the most of this fastest growing platform and make money on YouTube?

Simply creating high-quality creative videos by putting in your time and skills isn’t enough! You also need to promote them consistently to increase more views and get more subscribers.

Thankfully, there are many ways you can promote your YouTube videos for free.

Here are 15 free smart and effective ways to step up your YouTube promotion game in 2024.

Let's get started and learn how to promote your YouTube channel.

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15 Smart Ways to Promote A YouTube Channel

All the strategies I have explained below are free. So, basically by executing these strategies you'll be able to promote your YouTube Channel for free.

Plus, most of the strategies explained below are very simple and easy to execute. So, let's begin.

1. Make Your Thumbnail and Title Engaging

The title of your YouTube video should have the keyword people are searching for, but it should also be attractive enough for people to be curious about the content of the video. However, it should not be clickbaity or salesy.

To make your titles attractive, use power words like “Secrets”, “Discover” or “Free” in your titles. Do the same with the first lines in the YouTube description box.

But remember, this title should also work smoothly with the thumbnail. If your thumbnail and title don’t connect, the viewer might not click on the video.

The click-through rate on your videos is also essential because YouTube’s algorithm takes it as a factor to decide which videos rank higher for the same keyword.

So, make sure your thumbnail is relevant to the topic, eye-catching, attractive like your title, and both connect.

To create an attractive thumbnail I would recommend you to use one of the most popular graphic design tool called Canva.

It offers ready-made templates like YouTube Thumbnails that you can customize matching your channel brand.

Everything from font, color, logo can be easily customize inside the built-in Canva editor. Plus, there are hundreds of free images, graphics, icons that you can use in your thumbnail. You only pay when you use a premium item.

So, get started with Canva today.

2. Promote Aggressively for the First 24 Hours 

YouTube's algorithm prefers new videos over old ones. So, if you can take advantage of this by promoting your video more in the first 24 hours, it is easier to get more views and subscribers.

There are several ways to go about this. For instance, you can use your YouTube video editor and create sneak peeks to publish on social media as soon as you upload a video. Or, you can send the video to your newsletter subscribers instantly.

If you focus on your thumbnail and title, you may get many views from YouTube’s homepage as well. It is called ‘Browse features’ in YouTube’s terminology.

Don’t forget to ask your channel subscribers to keep their notifications on so they are alerted when you post your video. This will also give you good views in the first 24 hours and encourage YouTube’s algorithm to promote your videos even more.

3. Make YouTube SEO Your Friend

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, and YouTube SEO can become your key to millions of subscribers if you learn its rules.

Thankfully, it’s simple.

Use the YouTube search bar to find relevant keywords for the content you wish to create. Also, be on the lookout for trending keywords. (When finding the right keyword, keep in mind the user's intent.)

You can also use free keyword tools like 'AnswerThePublic'.

Next, use these keywords in the title and description section when you publish your video.

Note: When crafting headlines, don't just stuff your keyword in there. Make sure the title is engaging.

To up the game and beat the competition quickly, you can also make use of popular SEO tools to find relevant keywords rather quickly.

One such tool I recommend is Semrush. Check out my article - Semrush Review, if you want to learn how it can help you to grow you online business or blog.

After Google, YouTube is the second most used search engine on the internet. People often search YouTube to find answers or instructions on how to do something or how to create something.

Keyword Magic Tool offered by Semrush can help you to find the exact questions people are searching for on YouTube and lot more. Here is a detailed tutorial on how to do Keyword Research for YouTube by Semrush.

4. Increase Audience Retention and View Time

The YouTube algorithm promotes videos that have longer watch time.

One way to do that is by increasing the length of your video. Increase the video time if you can by adding more value to it. However, such value is worthless if people don’t watch the video.

Adding humor, animations or graphics, or anything that keeps the audience engaged will surely increase the engagement of your videos.

5. Encourage People to Like, Comment, Share and Subscribe

With less competition in the past, it was okay not to ask your viewers to subscribe, like, comment, or share your videos. The top-notch quality of your work did that job for you.

But with several new YouTubers joining the platform every day and tons of videos being released, you can’t rely on just quality anymore.

It’s always better to ask your viewers at the end of videos what they think about your content and share them with friends and family to show their support.

6. Collaborate with YouTuber Friends in the Same Niche

It is now easier than ever to find other YouTubers in your niche and become friends with them. Why not use this for mutual benefit and collaborate with them.

Simply contribute to one of their videos on their channel, and you will find tons of new viewers willing to check out your content because they already follow someone in the same niche.

When you go about offering other YouTubers a collaboration, tell them how it will benefit them.

Also, they would want to know what kind of video you want to create for them, how it will be valuable for their audience, and when they will get to see it. Only after getting the information will they be able to commit to the collaboration.

7. Share New Videos with Your Newsletter Subscribers

You may already have a newsletter. If you don’t, why not start one today! A newsletter reaches people’s inboxes - a place many of us go to more times than we would want to through the day.

Therefore, an inbox is a great place to announce to your subscribers that you have new videos waiting for them.

8. Promote Your Videos on Social Media

Everybody is on social media these days. It would be a pity to lose this opportunity to promote your videos.

Don’t just post something like, “I have a new video for you guys". Try giving people a sneak peek of your content.

You can do this on almost every platform these days, but Instagram Reels, Tiktok, and Facebook videos are a great option.

All you need to do is use a YouTube video editor tool like InVideo and cut interesting bits and pieces of your video to promote on social media.

By sharing sneak peeks, you are not only helping people looking for answers but also making people curious about what you have to say. This may prompt them to visit your channel, and if they like what they see, they may become regular followers.

Make sure you promote your videos with the preview when you are not sharing any sneak peeks or behind the scenes. It doesn’t take much effort and increases the chances of people clicking and watching your video.

9. Promote Your Videos on Quora, Reddit, and Similar Forums

Q&A sites and forums are places where people come for answers. Being a YouTuber, you may have those answers in your videos.

All you need to do is follow topics of your niche on these sites so that you get a notification every time someone asks a question that you might be able to answer. You can also make a habit of scrolling through these sites to find such questions yourself.

When you find the right questions, write a short answer in a conversational tone and tell the questioner that they can find more information in your video. Isn't it a great way to help people and yourself at the same time?

10. Use the Community Tab to Your Advantage

You may already have a newsletter. If you don’t, why not start one today! A newsletter reaches people's inboxes - a place many of us go to more times than we would want to through the day.

Therefore, an inbox is a great place to announce to your subscribers that you have new videos waiting for them.

11. Update the ‘Channel Trailer’ with Your New Video

The goal of your channel trailer is to tell new viewers what kind of content they can expect from you if they subscribe to your channel.

What better way than to showcase your latest video for them to understand your content? The cherry on top is that you get views on your new video.

12. Create Updated Versions of Popular Videos

If you have been a YouTuber for a while, you may have some videos that have seen better engagement than others. Take this as a sign for you to create more of the same content.

An easier way to do this is by creating sequels of your previous videos. For example, if you have a video on “Best laptops to buy in 2023,” you can now create a video on “Best laptops to buy in 2024”.

You can also use your YouTube video editor and improve the audio quality, video quality, pacing, content delivery before publishing it again for new viewers.

Make sure your video is much better than the previous one, or at least the improvements are visible and worth it. Then use the same keywords from the previous video to promote the new video.

13. Don’t Forget Your Channel's in-Built Promotion Tools

When starting on their YouTube journey, several YouTubers either don’t know how to use all of YouTube’s tools, or they are not as motivated to use them as they should be. But it only takes a few minutes per video to charge it up with significant promotion.

YouTube end screen: This is a great place to position your best videos or those related to the current video you posted. This way, the viewer gets more value and entertainment, while you get more views and probably more subscribers.

Personal branding watermark: Viewers may not know this; the branding watermark available at the bottom of the videos is not something by a YouTube video editor or any additional software. YouTube has this inbuilt feature to show your branding watermark and prompt the viewer to subscribe.

Side cards or the ‘i’: As a viewer, you may have seen YouTubers tell you to click the ‘i’ button on the top right of the video or the card. You can use this place to promote any related content on the current video.

14. Update Old Metadata and Thumbnails

Some of your old videos may not be great, and there’s nothing much you can do about it. But you can always update the title, thumbnail, description, and hashtags to increase the chances of those videos being watched again.

15. Focus More on What’s Working

It’s better to go with what’s working, and this applies to your thumbnail design, title template, description template, and traffic sources.

While it’s always good to experiment, focus more on what works if you want views and subscribers to keep your spirits high.

For example, if you are getting more YouTube traffic from social media sites (external sources) because of your high following on those platforms, schedule more time and put in more effort to promote on social media.

To find out which traffic sources are great for your channel, you can visit the ‘Reach’ tab in your Analytics section.

To know which thumbnail design, title, or description is working better, you can either ask your subscribers directly through the community tab posts or do a brief experiment by putting out unique designs and templates.

Wrapping Up

Those were 15 super effective methods to promote your YouTube videos without emptying your pockets. All you need to do is invest time and effort to get the desired impact from your YouTube channel.

I hope that now you know the exact strategies on how to promote your YouTube channel in the best possible way.

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