Is ‘How Long To Have 1000 YouTube Subscribers’ Giving You Sleepless Nights?
Then you need this to figure out everything
In 2021, I decided to ride the tide with a YouTube Channel. Why not!? With almost 2.6 billion people using the platform once a month, this was one bus I did not want to miss.
Algorithms have always intrigued me and almost challenged me till I cracked them. This, too, I did. But that was after some time in the system.
When I started, I had one big hurdle to cross to monetize the channel:
How to get my 1000 subscribers?
My hunt begins
I wanted to hear it from the horse’s mouth. So, I had to know what YouTube had to say about this. I started searching — how long does it take to have 1000 subscribers?
And what I was coming across did not seem right at all.
One person told me it takes 1 month.
One person told me it takes 1 week.
One person told me it takes 1 day.
And one person told me it takes 3 minutes.
Wait. What!? This doesn’t make sense. Early in my search, I knew I was going wrong.
So, I made a list of famous YouTubers and found out how long it took them to build their 1000-mark base.
Ali Abdaal — 6 months.
Mr. Beast — it took him years!
Now, my head was spinning. I was where I started — confused. But during the fruitless search of finding the time formula to crack the 1000-subscriber mark, I came across one thing again and again:
Quality content.
Listening to my heart
After wasting a lot of time trying to copy others’ success, I decided to ditch the run and listen to my heart. I decided to stick to one thing with commitment.
One Week. One Video.
All the famous (and infamous) YouTubers had one thing to scream out loud — building quality content is the key to cracking the YouTube nut. I set my mind to giving it my all and building my strategy. My only focus was to:
Build great videos that solve people’s problems. Period.
You may ask why I decided to go for one week-one video — because this was what famous YouTubers like Mrwhostheboss, Marques Brownee, and Indian YouTuber Tech Burner were swearing by.
No matter how the traction was, I promised myself that I would stick to the plan. And this is where most people falter. To give up prematurely. And I was aware I might succumb to the same. So, I made myself swear loudly that I would stick to the plan.
Making the first videos
And how long did it take for me to publish that first video?
One month!!
So, there went my one-video,one-week plan out of the window.
Actually, the first video took me 10 days to make, but it was not a great one. So, I did it all over again. I kept shooting and kept editing till I was satisfied with the output. Only after a month I had something that I was proud of making and was ready to share with the world.
In hindsight, I am happy that I got into the trouble of making and remaking the video because I still remember the first few comments I got.
The second video took me 14 days. And the third, 13.
While I was disheartened about not being able to stick to my one-video, one-week plan, my heart kept telling me that I needed to stick with the
quality rather than quantity.
Now the question arises — is it good or bad not to stick to the schedule?
To answer that, I will ask two questions to you:
- What is the ultimate point of publishing videos?
- What videos do you think YouTube will rank better — average ones or good ones?
You have got the drift. Now you have to work the logic backward. To make YouTube rank your videos, you need to have a great one, and when you have a good video, it will (obviously) get more views. It’s simple.
Remember: You will not get views for posting at the right time; You will get views for posting great content.
So, my take — stick to great content, even at the cost of going off track with the schedule a bit. Never compromise on quality.
The initial numbers
After posting a couple of videos, 4 to be exact, it was time for me to dig some numbers.
The subscriber vs. view percentage was 0.7%.
If you are new to this jargon, it is the ratio of the subscribers your channel has to the number of times your video has been played. So, obviously, the higher the number, the better it is.
Depending on the niche, it shoots up to around 3% for some channels.
Well, coming back to subscribers. That’s why we are here, right?
Okay, so after investing a lot into making quality videos, these were the statistics:
After 11 videos and 5 months, I touched the sweet spot of 1000 subscribers.
This is what it looked like.
Roadblocks I faced
As a consumer, you do not delve into the minute details that go into making a decent video. Trust me; it takes a lot to create one. As a new video creator, I was overwhelmed by the work that went into making a single video.
What looked effortless was draining me dry.
1. Insightful content
How to structure my content to keep my audience engaged and interested in the video? How long should it be? Should it be exhaustive, or should I make a series of videos?
Developing an entirely new kind of script (video) was my biggest challenge. With so many aspects that go into creating the right content, I often found myself engulfed with doubts.
2. Camera confidence
I am a shy guy. I hate cameras — here, I said it loud. But building a faceless video was not an option in my niche. So, there I was, all sweating in front of the camera.
It took me quite some time to bring about that confidence in front of the camera:
To override that shy and conscious guy within me and bring around a natural guy who is just sharing some information with his friends.
3. Technical aspects
Oh, where to start with this?
How to position it so that the light looks natural? How much light to use? When is the best time? What additional equipment to use? Noise-canceling? What mic to use to bring around the best sound? Background noise. The hours and hours of editing and re-editing. Graphics, thumbnails, and background music. The list can go on.
But with every video, this just kept improving, i.e., I kept getting better at it. And that’s the spirit you must hold on to.
This shows the time taken to complete a video:
Conclusion
Being the second biggest search platform after Google, saying that YouTube has huge potential is an understatement. Having said that, it also demands proportionate perseverance and dedication.
With the right approach and insight, one can crack the YouTube code. Just a recap of my journey to garner 1000 subscribers:
- Focus on quality rather than quantity — the former is what will take you the long way.
- Initially, it might look like all your efforts are getting wasted, but you will start seeing results — don’t give up too soon.
- The plans will falter and go awry sometimes. Pause and push yourself back to track.
- Making content will be painfully slow at first, but trust me, you will become a pro by your 10th one!
- For some, it can be 3 months, for some 5 and some 12 — but know that it is all worth the wait.
So, give it your all.
