How to Market Your YouTube Channel without Spending Any Money
One of the largest hurdles that new creators face is getting more exposure for their channels.
Getting more people to view a video or subscribe to a channel is a demanding task, but there are some proven methods to help you along. Let’s look at a few of them.
Sharing is Caring
A very common way for new creators to get their content noticed is by having it mentioned by larger social influencers. Asking a more established YouTuber with similar content to mention your channel in one of their videos gives that person’s entire audience a chance to check out a new channel that they could potentially be interested in — yours. For example, if you are starting a channel that focuses on tech reviews, a good idea would be to get in contact with a large tech promoter on one of the platforms and ask them if they can mention your content and feature a link to it in some of their posts.
Instagram and Twitter are home to some of the largest influencers around, so many new YouTube creators also ask influencers from those platforms to promote their content. These more direct platforms can also be a more effective way to reach out to prominent creators compared to reaching out through YouTube.
By convincing popular influencers to share and promote your content, you will be exposing your channel to many new potential viewers and subscribers. When reaching out to larger YouTubers, make sure to focus on building an authentic relationship based around common interests and goals. Influencers are more likely to want to help out if you can get them excited about the videos you’re uploading. Another common practice among those who seek promotion from others is to offer promotion in return.
Collabs Equal Advertising
If we take these mentions to the next level, we get the collaboration. This is when two creators will get together to make content. They will either be creators who make the same content and combine their styles and methods into one video or creators who make different types of content but try to find a way to connect it all together. Usually when creators collaborate, they will make two different videos, one for each channel, but sometimes the same video is posted to both channels. Make sure to include links to both channels in the description so it’s easy for viewers to find either creator.
Just like when asking fellow creators for a mention, make sure to get to know the creator you want to work with a bit before coming up with collaboration ideas. It’s easier to work with someone when there is already the foundation of a relationship in place.
By collaborating with popular YouTubers, you increase the chances of gaining a larger following more quickly. Appearing in the video of a popular creator will expose you to their audience, and if they have a strong following, those viewers will probably take a look at your other content as well. Collaborating with other creators is a great way to get some recognition for your channel, and it’s a relatively easy task once you start building up relationships in the creator community.
Publications Bring Promotion
Many new creators looking to advertise their channel seem to bypass one of the best ways of doing so: getting featured on a publication or website. Most print as well as online publications will be more than happy to feature a link to a YouTube channel in one of their articles as long as it is relevant to the theme of that publication. For example, if you are starting a channel about fashion reviews, you can try to get yourself mentioned in publication that focuses on fashion. They can feature a link to your channel or make a side note of the channel name at the end of a piece, especially if you have made videos covering topics similar to those covered in a particular article.
Often a video creator can be mentioned by publication as an example of a particular style or genre. Look for publications like this one, YouTuber Magazine, that are dedicated to helping people learn the ins and outs of video creation online as well as keep them up to date with the latest developments in the YouTube world. In many of our articles, we discuss particular types of content or channels and will provide the names or links to YouTube channels to illustrate a point or simply to highlight interesting work being done on the platform. We also feature interviews with creators so that other readers can learn from their experiences on the platform.
Blogs Can Offer Help
Like publications, independent bloggers are always looking for content for their sites. Video content is especially appealing since it helps keep their readers interested and on the page, and it provides a visual example of what is covered.
Like publications, independent bloggers are always looking for content for their sites.
If your YouTube channel focuses on a particular theme, it could become a resource for bloggers covering the same topics. If you manage to get featured by a blog, you will not only stand a chance of getting new followers, but everyone who shares the blog post will also be sharing your channel, further boosting the level of promotion for your content. The more popular the blog, the more people will see your video.
Reach out to blogs that you read or that overlap with your channel in content and potential audience. Make sure that they know that you exist and highlight particular videos you think would support existing posts. Even if they don’t share your videos right away, they may become subscribers, and high-profile bloggers are some of the most valuable subscribers you can get when it comes to spreading the word about your channel.
Product Reviews Lead to Exposure
One of the largest trends among YouTube creators is product review videos, where the creator has access to a popular or new product and will create a video going over it in detail and concluding with their own opinion on that product. The rise in popularity of these videos among creators comes from the high demand from audiences for reviews. Many people look to YouTubers to show them which product is best for their needs.
The advantage to making videos like this is that most brands will look forward to seeing reviews of their products, and will often share those videos in order to promote their product, which in turn will promote the YouTube channel that made the video. However, a lot of new creators will be tempted to create review videos that favor certain products or brands in order to get those brands to share the video. Although it can result in more promotion for your channel, forming a bias in your videos removes the ethics from the content you create. And if your audience starts to sense that, they might stop viewing your videos. One of the most popular tech review channels on YouTube is Marques Brownlee, he has created a huge following of almost 6 million subscribers and has had his content shared by some of the biggest tech brands out there, all while expressing his honest opinion on every product he reviews.
Final Thoughts
Whether it’s through collaborating with another creator or trying to get a publication or brand to share your content, there are many ways to promote your YouTube channel without having to spend money on promotional campaigns or ads. As long as you keep your content original, creative and honest, you’ll find other channels or brands that will want to collaborate with you and share your channel. So get out there and get creating!
