In Part III of our series on the youtube algorithm, let’s start by talking about SUBSCRIBERS. The number of subscribers or “subs” that your channel has means quite a bit to the youtube algorithm. People with large subscriber counts typically get favored in the numbers game. Their videos are more likely to be selected for sharing on the algorithm than users who are just starting out. So how do you get people to subscribe to your channel? Easy!! ASK THEM!! Yup, the good old “call to action”. You probably noticed this in videos that you’ve seen where the creator asks you to “Like, Comment and Subscribe” each and every time they make a video. While this may seem a bit crass, it is seen as one of the best ways to get people to subscribe. It doesn’t have to be tacky. It can certainly seem tacky sometimes, but when done with a bit of grace and style is can mean the difference between a new subscriber for your channel, or a click away. Subs are your core audience. So, it helps to publish your videos when your audience is likely to be watching. You can click on ANALYTICS in the YOUTUBE STUDIO to get a better idea of when your audience is actually online and watching your content. You may find out that your main subscriber base isn’t even in your home country. At which point, it might be a good idea to post based on their most active time of day for watching.

*Here is a creator vid about subscribers and the algorithm.


Next up, let’s talk about NOTIFICATIONS. These are alerts sent to your subscribers when one of your videos is made public after being published. Notifications can kick start traffic to your new videos. It’s important to note that your subs won’t get a notification for every vid you put up. The only way to get notifications sent out for every video is to get the user to click on the bell icon next to the subscribe button. That way they are volunteering to get notifications for every single vid. You have probably noticed creators asking you to click on the bell in order to be notified when new vids are released. Just like the call to action for subscribing, the call to action for notifications is also very important. Some creators do a screen grab to show users exactly what the bell icon looks like and where it can be found. Making a call to action can make you feel unforgettable as a creator. It’s not uncommon for people to wish to simply avoid asking for follows/likes. However, your audience wants to see your videos. So you should not feel bad at all about helping them to become part of your permanent viewership.

*Here is a creator vid about notifications.



I hope this series has been helpful. It’s never been easier to make music and to make videos. Gear is cheaper than ever and software is cheap/free and easy to get and use. However, this democratization has reached fever pitch. There are more people than ever creating great content and competing for eyeballs. It can seem nearly impossible to get traction on youtube these days simply due to the massive amount of video being uploaded every minute of every day. Also, it’s easy to get really burned out when keeping a 2 or 3 video a week schedule. This happens to everyone at some point. You just get tired of it. The key is to find things that you really want to make videos about and to create a work flow that works for you. Users are far less concerned about the resolution/lighting/etc. And far more interested in videos that speak to them. It’s ok to shoot your videos on a cell phone if that’s what works for you and your audience. The key is to find what does work for you and what works for your audience.

Please do feel free to share your youtube channel!!!

Mine is
http://www.techniqueswithtodd.com

Here is Part 1 of this series
https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_fo...c=62177&hl=

And Part 2!
https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_fo...t=0#entry790113