1,000 Subscribers in 30 Days | Grow on YouTube Faster in 2021
I’ve said this before and I will say it again – making it to the 1,000 subscriber mark on YouTube feels like the first level to knowing your success on the platform. But the journey from 0 to 1,000 subscribers can be GRUELING. Today, we’re talking about how to get 1,000 subscribers in 30 days. Whether that’s your first 1,000 or your next 1,000, these tips will work for you!
1,000 Subscribers in 30 Days | Grow on YouTube Faster in 2021
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Before we dive in, I want to say a huge thank you to today’s sponsor: Skillshare! If you want to grow on YouTube, Skillshare has TONS of classes that will allow you to learn all the things about YouTube. The first 1,000 people to click this link get a free trial of Skillshare Premium so you can get started learning today! Don't miss out.
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My Journey to 1,000 Subscribers
My journey to 1,000 subscribers on YouTube was sort of magical. I figured out in the middle of the journey that I needed to start taking YouTube seriously. And because I wasn’t taking it seriously at first, it took me well over one year to get my first 1,000 subscribers.
BUT, when I got serious about my channel, I added my next 1,000 subscribers in a two month period. And knowing what I know now, I could have done that even quicker. So, I’m going to share some truly actionable tips that you can start using TODAY to get 1,000 subscribers in 30 days.
Why do I need to get to 1,000 subscribers?
For most people, 1,000 subscribers is a big milestone because it’s the first step toward monetization. But, you need 1,000 subscribers AND 4,000 watch time hours on the platform to be monetized. YouTube makes that the requirement to make sure you have quality content. If someone has an audience elsewhere and sends them all to YouTube, they could hit 1,000 subscribers in a few hours. But, that doesn’t prove that their content on YouTube is good.
When you hit both of those milestones, YouTube feels confident in putting ads on your videos. They understand that you are providing quality content that people are going to watch.
First – Nail Your Niche
You HAVE to know who you’re talking to if you want to grow on YouTube. If you don’t know who the ideal viewer for your channel is, then how do you expect YouTube to know? And if YouTube doesn’t know who actually wants to watch your content, then they won’t know who to show it to – so they won’t show it to anyone.
The quickest way to grow your content is for YouTube to pick up a piece of your content and run with it. The algorithm will never do that if it doesn’t know who your videos attract. If people watch one of your videos but don’t stick around to watch more, then YouTube will stop showing off your content.
Nailing your niche also pre-qualifies the people watching your videos as good subscribers for your channel. If you’ve got videos way out in left field and someone subscribes to see those, but you start making videos in right field, they probably won’t engage with your channel.
Next – Pimp Your Channel
If someone finds your videos and then takes that extra time to check out your YouTube channel, they should FEEL like they’re in the right place and WANT to hit subscribe.
Whenever someone finds a video by you that they like, they’ll either watch the next video YouTube serves up to them OR click on your channel and pay you a visit. At that point, you need to really impress them with how your channel looks.
Your channel should feel like your brand. You need a cover photo that tells them what you do, who you are, and how you’ll serve them. They’ll want to see content like the example they just found, AND hours and hours of content they can watch if they want to watch it.
When I tell you to have tons of content for people to watch, I’m inevitably going to get the response: “But Jessica, I’m a brand new channel! How?”
Let me tell you this. YouTube cares more about you bringing someone to the platform than them watching hundreds and hundreds of your videos.
You get an extra gold star when you bring someone to the platform and they watch your video first. Bringing someone to the platform could mean that they found you through social media or a blog post. But it could also mean that they came to YouTube, searched for something, and your video was the first that they watched.
Ideally, you’d want them to go on and watch more of your videos on that same subject. But, if you’re just getting started, then that isn’t a possibility. So the key is to keep someone on the platform.
Until you have enough of your own content to fill up your channel, fill it up with other content that is relevant to your ideal watcher. Make playlists so that you serve as a resource to people who go to your channel.
If you make a video about using a Canon 50D to take photos, then people who watch that video are going to be new photographers. They might also need to know how to edit their photos using Lightroom. So, if you make a playlist of content about how to edit using Lightroom and add it to your channel, you’re positioning yourself as a photography expert even before you have created tons and tons of content.
OBVIOUSLY you want the entire page on your channel filled with your content. But, if you’re trying to get people from watching your first video and then deciding whether they want to subscribe by looking at your channel, it will be better for you to supplement with other people’s content than to leave it blank.
Third – Focus on search-driven content
If you don’t get anything else from this post, PLEASE take this in. You will hit your first 1,000 subscribers way quicker when the content you’re putting out is heavily optimized for search.
Focus heavily on search-driven content and people will find your channel quicker than they will if you’re putting out vlog-style videos or content that’s not optimized for search.
Using search-driven content maximizes the chances that the right people will find your channel. And yes, people absolutely grow without creating search-driven content. But there is no world where you can plan for non-search-driven content to grow your channel.
Focus on search-driven content as much as you can until your channel starts to grow sort of on autopilot.
Fourth – Use your existing audience and throw them at YouTube!
This is a tip that not everyone will be able to do. So, if you don’t have an existing audience somewhere else, then go ahead and skip this one and focus on the others!
Maybe you have a Facebook group, an email list, or something else where people follow you. You can bring your existing audience to YouTube with you!
The truth is, this is NOT a failsafe method to get 1,000 subscribers in 30 days. A lot of times, people who follow you on other platforms do so because that is their preferred platform. They follow you on Instagram and like to consume their content on Instagram, for example.
If you send your audience over to YouTube, they might subscribe because they absolutely love you. But, they may never come back to watch any of your videos because that isn’t their preferred platform.
This is why you see an imbalance in numbers for creators between YouTube and other platforms. They may have 500,000 subscribers on YouTube but 20,000 followers on Twitter.
Still, if you have an existing audience that you can send over to YouTube, then it is worth doing. I would highly encourage you to incentivize them to watch some of your videos, though. If your followers on Instagram have been excited about seeing your home, then post your home tour on YouTube and let them know they can watch it there.
Fifth – Create GOOD content.
This tip feels like a no-brainer, but I actually don’t think it is. The last thing you can do to get 1,000 subscribers in 30 days is to create good quality content. And I mean good content on several different levels and in different categories.
If you are doing everything else on this list, but your content is not good quality, then it’s going to stop you from growing.
Maybe you want to be a Photoshop YouTube channel, so you create a video about Photoshop and optimize it for search. But maybe in the video, your tutorial is confusing and you skip steps so people get lost. That will make people duck out of your video REALLY quickly.
Your content shouldn’t be clickbait or junk. If someone clicks on your video but you don’t actually deliver, they’re gone.
But I can’t mention quality content without talking about VAL.
VAL is an acronym that I just came up with that stands for video, audio, and lighting. VAL is the three key things that you need to know when it comes to technical quality.
When I say you need to focus on VAL, that does NOT mean you need to have top-of-the-line equipment. It just means that you need to have a decent quality video that isn't painful to watch.
Your phone is probably good enough for your video and audio quality. Sitting in front of a window is probably good enough lighting quality. If you don’t have VAL mastered, you will not grow as quickly as someone who does.
