Did you know that YouTube will share your content with people who have no idea you exist?

When you create your content the right way, YouTube tests it on a small group of viewers.
f it resonates with them, they’ll share it with more people.

This means that one video can potentially reach thousands of viewers.

Real Results from My Channel

On January 9th, 2025, my channel gained 4,657 new viewers. These were people discovering my content for the first time. Only 263 were returning viewers—those who had already watched my channel previously. Here’s an example: a recent video of mine has nearly 6,000 views, with 663 new viewers daily and only 51 returning viewers.

Similarly, a Shorts video I uploaded has amassed over 113,000 views, with 99.9% of viewers being new to my channel.

This proves that both long-form videos and Shorts can attract new viewers, provided you create the right content.

But how do you do that?

The Key to Attracting the Right Viewers

YouTube’s algorithm doesn’t focus on videos; it focuses on viewers. Instead of making videos to please the algorithm, aim to make videos that delight your audience.

Here’s how:

1. Choose a Niche You’re Passionate About
   • Passion sustains you through challenges. I started my channel in 2006, and nearly two decades later, I’m still going strong. Many creators quit after a few months because their videos don’t go viral. YouTube is the hardest social media platform to master, but passion for your niche makes it easier to persevere.
     
2. Know Your Target Audience
   • Understanding your audience helps you create content that resonates. Research competitors’ channels to study their top-performing videos, titles, thumbnails, and descriptions. Read their comments to uncover frequently asked questions.
     
   • Use tools like AnswerThePublic.com to discover trending topics. For instance, searching “fitness” might reveal questions like “Are fitness trackers worth it?” or “Which fitness band is most accurate?” These insights can inspire content ideas.
     
3. Leverage YouTube’s Inspiration Tab
   • In YouTube Studio, explore the “Inspiration” tab under “Content” to brainstorm video ideas. For example, searching “channel growth” might suggest ideas like “Hidden YouTube Features That Boost Growth,” complete with outlines and thumbnail suggestions.
     
4. Narrow Your Niche
   • Instead of appealing to everyone, focus on a specific audience. For example, the Knees Over Toes Guy channel, which focuses on reducing knee pain, has 1.73 million subscribers with only 37 videos. Solving your audience’s biggest problems fosters engagement and loyalty.
     
5. Tell a Story
   • People connect with stories more than facts. Share personal experiences, challenges, and victories to make your content relatable. Start with a strong hook, like an intriguing question or surprising fact, and structure your video with a clear beginning, middle, and end.

Boosting Engagement and Watch Time

YouTube rewards videos with high click-through rates (CTR) and watch time. Here’s how to improve both:

• Create Click-Worthy Thumbnails and Titles
  • A standout thumbnail and compelling title are crucial to attracting clicks. Compare your thumbnails to competitors’ and aim to stand out.
    
• Maximize Watch Time
  • Encourage viewers to watch your videos all the way through by linking to related videos or playlists in your end screens. Check audience retention in YouTube Analytics to see where viewers drop off.

For example, a video of mine with over 27,000 views gained 141 subscribers and $193 in revenue, with most traffic coming from YouTube search. Retention data showed 75% of viewers still watching after 30 seconds, increasing the likelihood of them watching the entire video.

Experiment with Content Formats

Not all viewers prefer the same type of content. Test different formats like Shorts, podcasts, or live streams to see what resonates. For example, I’ve uploaded Shorts daily for 30 days to analyze their impact. While not every experiment will succeed, the goal is to refine your approach.

Be Authentic

Authenticity builds trust. Share your journey, quirks, and personality. Engage with your audience as if speaking to a friend.

Here’s a comment from a subscriber…

“Your authenticity speaks volumes in your work. I’m new to YouTube
and started following you for ideas and inspiration. Thank you!”

Instead of copying competitors, lean into what makes you unique.

Encourage Engagement

Engagement fosters community. Use calls to action like:

• “Hit the like button if this content has been helpful.”
• “Subscribe for more tips.”

Poll your audience using the Community tab to understand their challenges. For example, I asked, “What’s your biggest challenge with YouTube?” and 67% responded, “Creating content that resonates with my audience.” This inspired the video you’re currently watching.

Final Thoughts

Creating content that resonates with your audience takes time and effort, but the rewards are worth it. Focus on understanding your viewers, solving their problems, and staying authentic. By doing so, you’ll attract the right audience and build a loyal community.

Want to learn how to make the YouTube algorithm work for your small channel?
Click here to watch this video.

Are viewers watching your videos all the way through?

In the video below I show 5 things you can do right now
to get longer watch times on your YouTube videos

Did you know that watch time is the highest ranking factor on YouTube? The longer a person watches your video the better it will perform in the search engines.

YouTube says “If viewers are watching more YouTube it signals to us that they’re happier with the content. They’ve found it means that creators are attracting more engaged audiences. It also opens up more opportunities to generate revenue for our partners.

If viewers stop watching your video at the beginning or in the middle of your video and leave then your videos are not going to rank well on YouTube or Google. If your videos don’t rank well, then people are not going to discover them when they enter the keyword in the search engines.

Here are 5 ways to improve the watch time of your YouTube videos

1. Create valuable content
Create content you’re passionate about and solves one of the BIGGEST problems of your viewers. Once you’ve identified the problem plan out your content so it flows logically as your video proceeds.

2. Script your video content
This can be as simple as writing out a few bullet points so you stay on track with your line of thinking plus you lead your viewer through your content naturally. I typically create a list of all the main points that I wish to cover in my video content then expand upon them as I’m filming my video.

3. Structure your video correctly

THE HOOK
Tell people what to expect right from the beginning of your video instead of leading with your logo animation which nobody really cares about tell people what to expect right from the beginning.

For example I introduced the video above by saying “I’ll show you the 5 things you can do right now to get longer watch times on your YouTube videos.”

Only after you’ve introduced your video content should you introduce yourself and ask people to subscribe. Try to keep it real short so you don’t lose the attention of your viewers. If you can keep the attention of your viewers in the first 15 seconds of your video they’ll probably keep watching the entire video.

MAIN CONTENT
Deliver the content that you promised in the intro of your video instead of just talking all the way through your video and risk losing the attention of your viewers. Try to reset the attention of your viewers by including graphics end cards, zooming in on the subject, using b-roll, video clips etc.

EDIT OUT THE FLUFF
Remove content that is not relevant to the topic that you’re speaking about. Also remove any ums and ahhs or mistakes that you’ve made
while producing a video.

CALL TO ACTION

• What action do you want your viewer to take while watching your video?
• Do you want them to subscribe, watch another video or opt into your lead magnet?
• Don’t give too many calls to action because that will result in indecision and them not doing anything.
• Use cards and end screens for your calls to actions because these are also mobile friendly

4. Lighting and Sound

Lighting
A poorly lit person will decrease the quality of your video. If you can’t afford or don’t have the space to set up light boxes, do your filming outside or in front of a window. I use 3 softboxes to light up the background and myself while filming videos.

Sound
For two years I used a $20.00 lapel microphone and thought the sound was fine. When I purchased and started using the Rode
Smartlav+ microphone my sound vastly improved.

5. Keep improving
Keep an eye on your retention graph in YouTube Anaytics to see if you you are keeping the attention of your audience. If relative audience retention is above 50% it means your video has a better audience retention rate than all other videos on YouTube that have the same length,

Keep trying different things with your videos to see if there’s an improvement in your audience retention rate. Sometimes one small adjustment will expand your audience.

Let me ask you an important question…
What are you currently doing to get longer watch times on your YouTube videos?
Post your answer in the comments below I’d love to read them and others would too.

If you want to learn how to grow your audience on YouTube and
generate views and subscribers on autopilot check out my
YouTube Markting Course at: TubeVideoBootCamp.com

If you want YouTube videos to rank well in the search results you need to optimize your tags with the right keywords. Properly optimized tags will get you get more views because your videos will appear in the search results as well as recommended and suggested videos.

Here’s how to correctly tag your YouTube
Videos so you can get more views:

Watch the video below

1. Place your main keyword at the beginning of your tags.
So if your main keyword was “dog training” enter it as your first tag. Your main keyword should also be included in the title and description because these are even more important than your tags.

2. Include secondary keyword phrases
These can be suggested keywords which you can find using YouTube’s auto suggestion feature. Just enter your main keyword in the search box and YouTube will show you suggested keyword phrases. Alternatively you can use ubersuggest to find related keyword phrases.

Place your most popular keywords at the beginning of
your tags followed by less popular keywords.

3. Use the chrome extension vidIQ to find tags
that you never thought of.
This extension will find the hidden keywords that your competitors are using for which you can add to your own tags.

4. Include your channel name.
If you add your channel name to your keyword tags then people will see
related videos from your channel on the right side of your video.

Keep these 3 important things in mind:

1. Don’t overthink the tagging of your videos
Even though tags will help your videos get found on YouTube and Google,
optimizing your title and description are even more important.

2. Watch time is the highest determining factor for your rankings.
Make sure you deliver great content in your videos so people
will want to watch the video all the way through.

3. Create an eye-catching thumbnail.
Create a custom thumbnail that grabs the attention of your viewers that are scanning the search results. They’ll be more inclined to click on your thumbnail if it stands out amongst all the other listings.

That’s it!
Now you know how to correctly tag your YouTube Videos
so you can get more views.

Download my video upload checklist at: http://www.drostdesigns.com/video-optimization-checklist. You’ll learn the 10 things that you need to do before going live with your video on YouTube.