From bedroom vloggers like Emma Chamberlain to essay channels like ContraPoints, YouTube has transformed countless creators into household names. Still, sustainable growth isn’t about going viral overnight, and many creators face barriers to growth when navigating the YouTube ecosystem. If you’re looking to enter the world of YouTube and grow your channel, it’s important to be strategic—here’s how.
1. Figure out what kind of YouTuber you are.
You’ll probably find lots of tips on how to get famous on YouTube by “hacking” the YouTube algorithm and modifying your content with SEO keywords. While this is a great place to start, those who experience sustainable YouTube growth over time are those with a strong sense of identity. Spend the time to clarify your goals, then use that framework to dictate your approach.
YouTuber Kevin Peterson of TJ1, a pop culture channel with 377,000 subscribers and over 32 million views, says that it’s important to decide if you want to create as a career or as a passion project. “If you want YouTube to be your job, then you should treat it like a job,” he says. “If you want it to just be an outlet for creative expression, then you should treat it like such. Both are completely valid, and I know creators who do both…. For something more sustainable that most people can learn and do, you’ve got to study what works, think about what you’re doing and how you’re doing it, and probably learn some other skills like branding, marketing, design, etc.”
2. Focus on a content-first approach.
As they say, content is king. “You’ve got to learn how to make a good video,” Peterson explains. “If you’re not doing that, you’re not going to get anywhere. I’ve reviewed a lot of videos from small and beginner creators and the common trend is that the videos are just not good. They are boring, poorly paced, have terrible audio, have no point, etc. So that’s number one.”
If you’re looking to compete with the best YouTubers, you must get better at making YouTube videos. This entails learning and practicing video and storytelling skills:
- Ideation
- Scriptwriting
- Cinematography and lighting
- Audio recording
- File management
- Editing and pacing
- Graphic design
While this may seem like a lot, all of these skills are learnable. Discover how to make a YouTube video by diving into online resources such as those offered by Aprilynne Alter, Jon Dorman, and StudioBinder. Analyze some of your favorite YouTubers and take notes as to what makes their content great and why they might be getting more subscribers. Is it their storytelling and writing? Is it how they edit and pace their videos?
For Peterson, it’s all about the narrative. “I studied basic storytelling,” he says. “There are a lot of frameworks people can look up and follow. There’s Blake Snyder’s Beat Sheet from his book ‘Save the Cat!,’ [or] there’s Dan Harmon’s Story Circle. But in reality all we have to keep in mind is that a story must have a beginning, middle, and end that flow into each other and build on what happened before. A good story makes people excited to learn what’s gonna happen next, so they don’t click away.”
3. Prioritize retention.
Unlike some other video platforms, YouTube highly values retention, or the average percentage viewers spend watching a video. For example, if you post a 10-minute video and your audience watches an average of five minutes of the video, the video’s retention rate is 50%. “High audience retention tells the YouTube system that viewers are finding your content engaging, which can positively impact your video’s reach,” according to YouTube’s blog.
Editing your videos so that each segment flows naturally into the next—while also providing entertainment, educational, or emotional value—is paramount to making engaging content.
“You have to be relentless in your edits,” Peterson advises. “You must be willing to cut out anything that’s not serving the overall story or anything that’s slowing the video down. Even if it’s your favorite shot of the video, if it’s not working, cut it. I used to over-explain things WAY too much—I used to feel the need to give so much unnecessary context that viewers could easily pick up on their own. This really slowed down my videos and killed my retention.”
As you continue to make videos, experiment with pacing and structure through your edits. Analyze the performance and retention rate of your videos. Eventually, you’ll understand what keeps your audience watching.
4. Package your video intentionally.
Video packaging encompasses all the design elements that viewers first encounter, specifically the video title and thumbnail. “Packaging is a huge deal that people still don’t take as seriously as they should,” especially smaller creators, Peterson says. Packaging is the hook that gets viewers to click, while content gets them to stay.
- Title: Take on the audience’s perspective when creating your title. Does it entice curiosity? Does it clearly communicate what the viewer will get out of watching? Is it accessible, or is it too specific or obscure?
- Thumbnail: This should be graphic with high saturation and contrast so that no matter the size it appears to audiences, it’s recognizable and attention-grabbing. Any thumbnail text should add something to the packaging, not feel redundant.
Here’s an example from Peterson to show you what good packaging looks like:
Let’s think about how a creator new to YouTube might package this same video and concept without intention. The title might be something simple like “Elaine’s Character Arc on ‘Seinfeld.’ ” While accurate, this title doesn’t entice curiosity or signal what makes this analysis worth watching compared to hundreds of others. Peterson’s title, “How Elaine Became the Villain of ‘Seinfeld,’ ” adds an opinion, the promise of a claim, and intrigue.
For the thumbnail, a novice YouTuber might select an image of Elaine without any edits or perhaps the “Seinfeld” title logo. But Peterson goes a step further with his high-contrast thumbnail depicting Elaine making an angry face, set against a purple background with the words “She used to be nice.” This makes viewers want to know what happened to make her go from a nice character to a villain, which they can only find out by watching the video.
5. Post consistently.
While it might sound obvious, channels that post consistent, high-quality videos tend to grow faster and build a stronger community. A regular uploading schedule will bring the same audience members back because they know when to expect something new.
If your goal is to pursue YouTube as a career, structure your process accordingly. Develop a weekly production plan and upload your videos according to a schedule so your audience knows when to expect new content. A well-defined workflow doesn’t just keep you organized—it helps you maintain creative momentum and avoid burnout.
6. Enjoy the process.
The problem with many YouTube growth tips is that they tend to overemphasize the algorithm, SEO, and other metrics that creators can’t fully control. While understanding these systems and how YouTube implements them can be helpful, obsessing over them can create unrealistic expectations, or worse, lead to burnout.
When every decision revolves around what might perform instead of what feels authentic and creatively fulfilling, you risk losing the passion that made you want to create in the first place. Those who approach YouTube channel growth through their passion for making videos set themselves up for more sustainable work and growth.
“Chasing the algorithm is a mistake,” Peterson says. “The algorithm is a complex, nebulous thing that no one fully understands, probably not even the people who work on it. It’s a good general life tip to try not to stress yourself out over things you can’t control.”
Instead, he advises focusing on the factors we can control and learning to love that process. “The only thing we can control is ourselves,” he says. “We can learn and get better at our craft. That’s literally all we can do. I know it’s often easier said than done, but we have to divorce our emotions from the results of our videos. If your happiness is tied to how many views or subscribers you have, you’re destined for burnout, guaranteed…. If you don’t love the process of making videos and are only in it for the results, it’s probably not gonna work out.”