How to Trick YouTube into Growing Your Channel

[0:00]You can't beat the algorithm. But you can trick it into growing your channel for you. I remember when I first started YouTube, I put a ton of effort into my channel, but it was just stuck. Even though I was doing everything right. It made me wonder, how is it that some channels get picked up by the algorithm while others don't for years. I refused to believe it was just luck. So I dug a little deeper and I noticed some tricks that smaller creators were doing right before their channels took off, but I just overlooked it. So in this video, we're going to uncover the four simple tricks that you can do to fast track the growth of your channel because they can actually get the algorithm to push your content. And no, I'm not going to tell you to go steal somebody else's video ideas or their strategies. That can help if done correctly, but no, I'm talking about strategies that directly impact how the algorithm deals with your channel. And the first thing you want to do is give signals to the algorithm on what exactly your channel is about, which seems simple, but you'd be surprised how many creators fail to do this the right way. And yes, there is a right way. Picture this, you start a new channel and you launch your first video. You sit there excited, waiting to see the views come in, and then they don't. Why? Well, you're new here. The algorithm doesn't know what you're talking about, who to present your video to, or even what your channel's about. So what happens next is there's a 50% chance that you'll post a second video and there's a 50% chance that you won't. Let's go with the optimistic chance that you do post another video. Again, you sit there waiting for views, a few more trickle in, but not really what you're expecting. You're probably devastated, disappointed, and the chances of you making a third video just dropped a little bit more. And they continue to drop with each frustrating attempt. It's so common by now that it actually has its own name, the First Valley of Death. Or where many creator dreams go to die. So how can you avoid failing before you even begin? Well, you can actually overcome this, and it's a trick that one of the biggest YouTubers recommends to all his clients. It goes something like this. When we launch a channel, we launch it with five videos. That is a hard and fast rule for us so that way people go on a significant watchtime journey in the that first week period. That way it tells YouTube, 'Wow, this is a great channel that's going to get people to watch and they're going to be really engaged.' So immediately you're jump starting the channel from 0 to 100 as opposed to zero to like 10% - 15%, then maybe I get around to that next video. That's MatPat. You may have heard of him, the mastermind behind the game theorists and a consultant helping small channels grow. Well, he knows what he's talking about. And what he's explaining here is one of the biggest mistakes new creators make, launching with one video or even worse, an empty channel. His solution, launch with five videos. And that has at least two advantages with the algorithm. First, uploading five videos at once shows your audience that you're serious about your channel. It demonstrates that you have a clear value proposition and a variety of content to offer. This can help build trust and encourage viewers to subscribe because now they can see that you're committed to providing value. Second, and this is where the algorithm comes in, when you have multiple videos, viewers are more likely to binge watch your content. You can now lead them from one video to another, which is something you wouldn't have been able to do had you just launched with one video. Just by doing that, you've successfully and significantly boosted your watch time, which tells the algorithm, "Hey, this channel is engaging and keeps people watching!" Which obviously YouTube loves to hear, and once more of. But this launching strategy will not matter without mastering the next trick. Strategizing to post five videos is just a start because you have to make sure your video topic has potential. The video topic can mean the difference between 100,000 views and 100 views. The good news is, there's a way to make sure you picked a good topic. Now, there are tools that can help you come up with a great high-view count topic for your YouTube channel. And the best part is, they're totally free. So how do you find these topics? Easy. Let's start with a tool that everyone knows about, Google Trends. Google Trends is great for getting a general sense of what's popular in the moment. You can see what people are searching and you can identify a broad trend. For example, if you search true crime, you might notice that it's a consistently popular topic with various spikes in interest. This gives a general idea that true crime content is in demand. However, to really hone in on the specifics and maximize your video's potential, you need something a bit more powerful. That's where VidIQ comes in. Let's jump to the tool and see how it works. The keyword inspector gives you a VidIQ score, which combines search volume and competition to indicate the potential success of the topic. Let's say true crime. True crime has a high search volume but also high competition, so we got to dig a little deeper. Refine your search. Look for related keywords with better potential. For example, true crime documentaries or true crime stories. Check the VidIQ scores for these variations. You might find that true crime stories has moderate competition but still has a good search volume. Discover new opportunities. Use the related keywords to explore more specific niches. You might come across true crime mysteries unsolved, which has a high VidIQ score, indicating that it's a trending topic with less competition. So this way, you've not only identified a popular trend, but also refined it to find a specific angle that gives you the best chance for success. This saves you time and ensures your content will be discovered and watched by a larger audience. And best of all, you just transformed your guesswork into data driven strategy. And look at the proof. Just type in true crime stories unsolved on YouTube and check out the views. They're in the millions. Indicating that this is a topic people click on. But getting people to click is just the start. The hard part is keeping them watching to the end. It's a pretty straightforward formula. The longer you can hold their attention, the higher the watch time. This prompts the YouTube algorithm to expose your channel to an ever increasing audience. And this is why you need to use this simple trick way more than you think to explode your retention. If you've ever stumbled across one of Dodford's videos, you'll find that he's a storytelling genius. His storytelling is seamless, it's captivating and it keeps you till the end. I dug deeper into what he's doing and I found a Twitter thread of his where he reveals a secret script writing hack. It's called the three-act structure and he hints about it over and over. So how can you use this to increase your watch time? Follow that framework. Not just once, but with each new segment. Consider adding a hook that peaks curiosity, a story or example to get your point across, and only give the lesson at the end. And the most important thing is just to keep doing this over and over through the whole script, so you can keep catching interest right before the viewer has a chance to lose it. For example, say you're creating a video on the best way to cook steak. Have you ever wondered why your steak doesn't taste like a restaurant's? Then confront the problem. Most people make these common mistakes. Use vivid descriptions and personal stories. Finally, resolve it. Here's the foolproof method used by top chefs. Using this structure, you not only keep viewers engaged, but you make your content more memorable and impactful. Now I call this next trick the lazy way to grow your YouTube channel. Really, really fast. And I love it because you basically just let the algorithm do the work for you. Remember when we covered how the algorithm aims to surface the best content that gratifies the audience? Well, when you upload a video that blows up or sees tremendous success, that's a clear indication that that's what your viewers and subscribers are wanting to watch. So all you got to do is just note that down and hammer on it. What the pro creators do, and so should you, is something Jenny Hoyos calls creating buckets. Once you find a format that works, recreate it. Over and over again, and that will ensure that it'll probably work every time. Thereby exploding your channel. Mr. Whosetheboss is doing it with his I bought the most blank tech series, and Ryan Trahan is doing it with I tried one star series. Even Mr. Beast is doing it. Wow. Look at the millions of views. You too can easily do this. Once you pinpoint a specific video style or format that works for you and you knock it out of the park, just keep doing it. Keep churning out videos within that bucket. You got to be careful though, because too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. Here's Mr. Beast's thought on that. Every year we've had formats that do really well. If I kept doing the formats that were crushing back in 2020, I wouldn't be where I am now. Eventually they would fizzle out. I'm a big believer in like ending on a format while, you know, it's not too old. We have so many viral great ideas that I want to bring to life. There are just like so many videos I want to film and like so many different ideas that no one else is doing that I want to bring to the table that it's like, I don't want to do 15 of those because like those other eight that I would do, I could have done something more original and creative. So yeah, definitely milk that winning format, but you don't want to become overly reliant on it. Keep experimenting because that will allow you to consistently tap into your viewers' interest while exploring some other concepts that might unlock a new audience. Speaking of new audiences, did you know there's a way to gain 1,000 subs super fast? No? Really? Well, there is. Check this video out to see what I'm talking about.