CHAPTER SIX
Getting More Views
Many people have become well-known, or even famous, because of their YouTube videos. But for every YouTube celebrity, there are thousands of people who have trouble getting views. If you want to get more views on your YouTube videos, then you have to not only make an amazing video, but you also have to know how to describe and share your creation. Using good descriptions, sharing your video with tons of people, and making sure your video looks great are a few ways to propel your video into the YouTube stratosphere.
Appropriate descriptions
Name your video file accurately. If it’s about a lizard, then the word “lizard” should be in the file name of the video. You can name it “scary-lizard.mov.”
Give your video an appealing title. It should be short, engaging, and to the point. If your video is about your kid spilling macaroni and cheese everywhere, just call it “Mac and Cheese Disaster.” It should pique your viewers’ interests without giving too much away.
Describe your video thoroughly. Most people ignore this step, but you should take it seriously to increase your views. Describe your video as accurately as possible in the space you are given, taking 2-3 paragraphs to write an interesting and precise description of what people can expect when they see the video.
Use the best tags. Use all of the keywords from your title and description in the “tags” section to get more viewers interested. The more relevant tags you use, the more often your video will pop up when people search it. For example, if you’re posting a video of your cute sleepy dog, you could use words like “Sleepy,” “Dog,” “Hilarious,” and “Cutest.” Make sure you don’t include extra tags in the description, as those are not included when people search for them.
You can use tags that describe your video as well as other relevant popular videos to make sure that as many people as possible see your video when they are searching YouTube.
Sharing wisely
Share your video with as many people as you can as soon as you post it. The earlier you share it, the more likely it will be to be a YouTube sensation. If you wait a week to share it while it barely gets any views, it’ll be much more likely to be forgotten by the YouTube community. Remember, timing is everything. Think of when your audience is likely to watch your video and release right before then (evenings and weekends are a good suggestion).
Email your video to your friends, family, and coworkers. Create an email list consisting of the people who know you well enough to be actually intrigued by your new YouTube video, and send them the link and encourage them to watch it. You can even add, “I can’t wait to hear what you think!” to show that you really expect them to watch your video. If you don’t care about potentially annoying people, just send it out to as many people as you can.
If you have an intriguing subject and a persuasive email, there’s a good chance anyone will look at the video without even knowing you very well.
Share your video through social media. Post your video on Facebook, Twitter, and any other social networking sites that you’ve joined.
Use a blog or a website to promote your videos. If you have a blog or a website, you can use it to market your videos. If you don’t have a blog or website of your own but know friends with websites or blogs that are popular, ask your friends if they can help you out by sharing your video with their fans.
Editing
Take out white space. Create your video, then go into an editor and remove the long pauses, and other distractions in the video. If the video paces faster, people will continue to watch.
Add music to your Video. A good audio track can spruce up the video and disguise any audio problems you may have had. YouTube just released an audio library you can choose from.
Include text information – an email address, website, twitter handle and more. Some people may not be watching this video on YouTube. You want them to know who you are in those cases. Text can also keep or direct attention on-screen. Use it to your advantage.
Create credits (maybe some bloopers). Put something at the end of your videos to point where they can find you. Add some bloopers or extra footage. People love to see the extras at the end and your watch time might increase.