Every YouTuber wishes to have millions of subscribers but channels vary from each other and how to get more subscribers on YouTube gaming channel is quite different from other niches.
This is to say that channels operating in different niches will need to perform their search for subscribers differently.
Getting more subscribers on YouTube gives you huge potentials. You start earning more money from ads. Also, there is a boost in your views as more and more people trust your opinion. Many YouTubers have also been spurred on from getting more subscribers to further develop their channels.
As a gaming channel, getting more subscribers on YouTube is a big deal, and it’s not going to be an easy task to accomplish. Keep in mind that even as gaming channels, each channel will face its own set of struggles along the road to achieving this goal.
In this article, I will be looking at how to get more subscribers to the YouTube gaming channels.
How to Get More Subscribers on YouTube Gaming Channel
If you want to learn more on how to get more subscribers to YouTube gaming channel, read on for some tips to help you achieve this:
Determine Your Value Proposition so Viewers Subscribe
Just like most niches on YouTube, competition in the gaming niche is fierce. In truth, the competition in this niche will only continue to increase. This is because more and more gaming content creators will continue to enter into the fray.
As a gaming channel content creator, you need to always evaluate your proposition. This includes you asking yourself, why should people subscribe to your channel? As soon as you determine this important metric, that becomes your value proposition.
Many will ask; what is the value proposition? To simply put, it’s the factor or combination of factors that make a channel valuable. This could range from the uniqueness of content to delivery mode as well as persona. Once you know this, you can leverage your value proposition as a gaming channel to attract more subscribers.
Create Authority as a Gamer
If you want to attract more subscribers to your gaming channel, then there is a need to build strong credibility as well as an authority around your value proposition. In a more regular term, you need to talk the talk and walk the walk.
This would include you practically sharing valuable insights, tricks, hacks, and tips into various gaming options. You essentially bring your knowledge to bear to help your audience master a game. Thankfully, this can be achieved in many ways such as tutorials, review of gaming sequence, or how to navigate a hard section. Some prominent YouTubers in the gaming niche go as far as the outright comparison between games of similar genres. You could as well show highlights of some of your best moments in the game where you conquered some of the most daunting challenges.
It’s important to note that building credibility and authority isn’t an overnight task and it will require extra work on your end. Also, as a gaming channel, you will need to create a reasonable amount of gaming content before you can assert authority. This is because, the more valuable content you have, the more audience starts seeing you as an actual master of your craft.
Also, another important factor is that creating authority and how long it takes to do that will depend greatly on how well your channel is niched down. If you cover at least one genre of game, it’s likely that you will become an authority figure faster. And if you cover more genres or your channel is just generally about gaming, then this might take longer
Create a Video playlist
Another way on how to get more subscribers to the YouTube gaming channel is to create a detailed playlist for your content. Creating a robust playlist will help you serialize your content as well as aid a potential subscriber’s journey through your channel.
One way is to create more contents around a particular topic of interest. This sounds like extra work but in the long run, you will discover that the benefits far outweigh the task. It gives potential subscribers an idea of the exact type of content they’re going to get if they come back wanting more. In addition to this, you are providing YouTube with extra data to help better categorize your channel and hence push your content for you.
Another benefit is that it gives you the opportunity to diversify your content at any time. Take for instance; your channel creates content for say “call of duty”. You can decide to create tutorials as well as some generic ‘let’s play’ content. Such channels can create a mix of ‘let’s plays’, with tutorials, reviews as well as share special moments.
All of this is done in a sequence that entices more subscribers with ease of following of content. Consequently, potential subscribers have an excellent idea of what kind of content you make around this particular game or the genre of games.
Customize your YouTube Thumbnails
As a gaming channel or just about any channel on YouTube, one rule of thumb is to never allow the platform to choose your thumbnails for you. It portrays you as lazy, unprofessional, and less sophisticated.
One reason you shouldn’t allow this is that a selected thumbnail might not contain the necessary information to attract more subscribers. Also, it will vary from video to video thereby displaying a lack of consistency. Also, another caveat to note with custom thumbnails is never to try and cram as much information onto it.
The perfect mix is to use quality images that don’t distort with size reduction as well as feature only important messages to grab viewers’ attention. Thankfully, the gaming niche provides lots of opportunities to create quality, eye-catching thumbnails. This is so because the video game itself is an established work of art.
Keep in mind that not all games provide super screenshots that can double as thumbnails. In instances like this, take your time to design appealing thumbnails with the right information. A popular character from the game will suffice as a perfect thumbnail. Simply ensure that audiences can visually connect with the content rather than just simply taking a top-down screenshot.
Use powerful Calls to Action
Now that you’ve developed your value as well as authority in the gaming niche, it’s always a good idea to ask directly for viewers to subscribe. After all, it never hurts to ask politely yet powerfully.
Asking implies that they’ve already clicked on your video out of interest, why not turn them to a regular viewer of your channel. Most likely, your titles, thumbnails, and optimization techniques might have gotten their attention, all which is needed is now a powerful reminder for them to hit that subscribe button.
Simply hint to them that you create awesome content like the one they’ve just watched and urge them to subscribe for more. It never hurts to invite people to explore your library of videos a little bit deeper and decide if you’re a creator they would like to visit again.
Apply subscription string to your Channel URL
This is one smart way on how to get more subscribers to the YouTube gaming channels. And it’s simple, all you have to do is add your channel link with “?sub_confirmation=1”.
So if your channel link is initially: https://www.youtube.com/user/danielshustle. Once you add a subscription string, it becomes https://www.youtube.com/user/danielshustle?sub_confirmation=1.
Once a viewer clicks on your link that contains the subscription string, they immediately get a pop-up to quickly subscribe to your YouTube channel. It is advisable to use a YouTube subscription string when promoting your content on blogs, social media, or any other place.
Have a Teaser
Often, when people watch a YouTube video, they get bored quickly. You’ll know this is happening to you if your view time on a video shows a large drop after just a few seconds of your video. It’s hurtful to see, but it happens.
The good news is you can reduce this by having the BEST, most EXCITING part of your video right at the start as a sort of teaser. Keep watching to see THIS is the unspoken message.
This is why you’ll often see recipe videos opening with a shot of the almost finished dish, or funny videos opening with a great FAIL moment – before the channel titles or logo kicks in.
If that’s not appropriate even a quick, “Hey, this video will be about…” at the start of your video will be great for watch time. Lots of YouTubers also use the technique of saying, “Watch to the end to see…” and then add bloopers, or a giveaway at the end of the video, to help encourage people not to click off too soon.
Never underestimate the powers of engagement
It’s not just about getting more and more subscribers to your channel. Of what good are subscribers who leave after a few days of joining your channel? Or subscribers who are inactive or rather unengaged.
One way to keep subscribers and get more on a YouTube gaming channel is by engaging with your audience. This proves that you are active and not just interested in churning out content after content. Also, you can increase your credibility and authority through engagements by answering questions or replying to comments on your content.
If a large chunk of your audience is asking the same question, you may want to pin your response. If someone leaves a witty response or winning testimonial, you can spread the information by pinning such a comment. Certainly, there are numerous reasons to want to pin a comment; either yours or from a viewer. Whatever the reason might be, you can boost engagement with a question or call-to-action.
Thankfully, pinning a comment to the top of your feed is easy and can be done by following the steps below:
- Go to your Community tab.
- Select the comment you want to pin.
- Click More and then, Pin.
Use other social media platforms
This refers to you actively cross-promoting on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook even WhatsApp. Basically just about anywhere you have a community of fans established.
You can use other social media platforms to reach your goal of getting more subscribers by simply encouraging viewers to check out your YouTube channel in your Instagram or Twitter bio. That is one way.
Another way of utilizing social media is to cross-post your content across all platforms you are present on. YouTubers in the gaming niche can consider posting teaser snippets on social media. Then ensure to link to your YouTube channel in order to drive your audience there.
Use YouTube analytics
As a YouTuber implementing many of the strategies we’ve mentioned might sound appealing. But you also need to keep an eye on what works and what doesn’t. This is where your knowledge of how to use YouTube analytics tools comes to play.
Not many channels will require all the steps listed above, chances are you might have implemented some. All you need to do is find the right mix of what works best for you and your channel. Thankfully, analytics provides several data points to many metrics that can aid in your evaluation.
Danielshustle suggests a weekly or even a daily analytical review of contents. You can use analytics to determine contents that need more work. You can even go deeper to determine why audiences only watch for a short time.
This provides the perfect opportunity to learn from previous content and use that knowledge to create future engaging videos. It’s simply doubling down on contents that work while eliminating those that don’t.
Conclusion
If you’ve ever wondered how to get more subscribers to the YouTube gaming channel, then this piece is certainly for you. No doubt, the YouTube platform is great, and earning money on it even makes it more interesting.
That said; getting more subscribers on a YouTube gaming channel won’t be an easy task and oftentimes, many YouTubers quit from this quest. It takes lots of handworks, dedication, time, and commitment to stay focused on accomplishing but with these few tips we just shared with you, the job becomes easier.
Keep in mind that there is no one fit all solution. So what works for you might not work for another person. But by experimenting with various methods above, you are sure to reach your goal of getting more subscribers sooner than you can realize.
