YouTube Question Why collaborate

[TakeEachDay]

I see a lot of posts about collaboration and have also been asked. I donΓÇÖt really get it and why. I want to know the good, bad and the ugly on collaboration and the purpose. Has it helped your channel. Is it worth smaller channels collaborating together. Are there such things as bad collaboration. It seems to be something I may need to think about as my channels grows. I understand larger YouTube channels that collaborate with smaller ones could potentially draw traffic to them. But why bother doing it when youΓÇÖre smaller. Sorry if this is a silly question but I need to know all things collaboration. Thankyou

 

[BillyBoy]

Lets say you have 100 subs and the person you collab with also has 100 subs. You expose your channel to 100 more people by collaborating. (thats a lot in the beginning) Further down the road: both channels have grown. some people still watch the old video and you still get traffic from this other youtube channel.

Collabs probably are the best way to grow in the long run.

 

[Ikerot]

Lets say you have 100 subs and the person you collab with also has 100 subs. You expose your channel to 100 more people by collaborating. (thats a lot in the beginning) Further down the road: both channels have grown. some people still watch the old video and you still get traffic from this other youtube channel.

Collabs probably are the best way to grow in the long run.

Yup!

And it's not like you can only have one collab per person.

 

[TakeEachDay]

Yup!

And it's not like you can only have one collab per person.

ThatΓÇÖs good to know IΓÇÖm going to look into it a little more

 

[LokiTV]

Hello. How does collaboration differ from sub for sub? I know the latter is discouraged and can potentially lead to your channel being deleted. So how does collaboration work exactly? I'd also be interested to know.

 

[TubeBuddy]

Hello. How does collaboration differ from sub for sub? I know the latter is discouraged and can potentially lead to your channel being deleted. So how does collaboration work exactly? I'd also be interested to know.

Collaboration is usually on a video, or something like that. We 've done it at TubeBuddy! It can help introduce us to a new audience, and vice versa to the guests we bring on!

 

[LokiTV]

Ah, that explains it. I'm still a newbie when it comes to some of the jargon, thanks for clearing that up. I understand now and it makes sense - cross promotion. Always happy to feature as a guest, just putting it out there!

 

[Stanley | Team TB]

The immediate impact with a collaboration is simply attempting to share each others audience. But that is a very simplistic approach to a tool that can be far more valuable than the immediate gain of a handful of subscribers.

I have done some collaborative work, and even work with a group of like-minded fishing channels. As a collaboration we occasionally fish together and that's fun because it presents our content to an audience who likes what we do but may not be familiar with us. It is also valuable to see someone elses presentation of the exact same content as a means of learning what works (and what doesn't). But it is the behind the scenes stuff that is in my opinion most valuable. With a collaborative group you can help push each others videos when you have something that you are really proud of; it obviously can't be done every video but when you have that one that you really want to shine it's nice to have a group who will help push you on various forums, via social media, community tab etc. It also helps when someone else endorses your work.
Beyond the videos though my group is also great about bouncing ideas off each other and we help each other with insight into our editing, thumbnails etc. We all started Affiliate marketing together, and we all suffered the lack of sales in the first few months that caused us to have our accounts closed... now we all purchase from each others links and because we do Sports/Outdoors we are often hit up by Amazon sellers to help promote their products, which we purchase off each others links as well.

So in synopsis (because I am WAY too long-winded, sorry) a collaboration done correctly can wield a lot of benefits for your channel.

 

[TakeEachDay]

I was just wondering how it worked really. I would have thought it would be better to do a joint video with the person you want to collab with rather than virtual collab. Is that true. Because if youΓÇÖre not actually getting together thatΓÇÖs more of a shout out. IΓÇÖm just slightly confused with it because many people ask for collabs but what are they going to do with it. As a really new you tuber IΓÇÖm just trying to get my head around all the intricacies of it

 

[LokiTV]

The immediate impact with a collaboration is simply attempting to share each others audience. But that is a very simplistic approach to a tool that can be far more valuable than the immediate gain of a handful of subscribers.

I have done some collaborative work, and even work with a group of like-minded fishing channels. As a collaboration we occasionally fish together and that's fun because it presents our content to an audience who likes what we do but may not be familiar with us. It is also valuable to see someone elses presentation of the exact same content as a means of learning what works (and what doesn't). But it is the behind the scenes stuff that is in my opinion most valuable. With a collaborative group you can help push each others videos when you have something that you are really proud of; it obviously can't be done every video but when you have that one that you really want to shine it's nice to have a group who will help push you on various forums, via social media, community tab etc. It also helps when someone else endorses your work.
Beyond the videos though my group is also great about bouncing ideas off each other and we help each other with insight into our editing, thumbnails etc. We all started Affiliate marketing together, and we all suffered the lack of sales in the first few months that caused us to have our accounts closed... now we all purchase from each others links and because we do Sports/Outdoors we are often hit up by Amazon sellers to help promote their products, which we purchase off each others links as well.

So in synopsis (because I am WAY too long-winded, sorry) a collaboration done correctly can wield a lot of benefits for your channel.

A very well put together answer that fully illustrates the benefits of collaboration. There are enough viewers out there to share and if they are truly into the subject matter that one of your 'competitors is showing, then in every likelihood, they're going to enjoy yours too.

 

[Stanley | Team TB]

I was just wondering how it worked really. I would have thought it would be better to do a joint video with the person you want to collab with rather than virtual collab. Is that true. Because if youΓÇÖre not actually getting together thatΓÇÖs more of a shout out. IΓÇÖm just slightly confused with it because many people ask for collabs but what are they going to do with it. As a really new you tuber IΓÇÖm just trying to get my head around all the intricacies of it

Yeah there are a LOT of different ways to do it, and you are right. Being on video with your collaborator is absolutely one of the best ways to do it. That isn't always possible, but that doesn't mean you can't work together. So when you are unable to physically get face to face for a video you can still utilize collaboration as a means of introducing each other to your respective audiences.

 

[TubeBuddy]

A very well put together answer that fully illustrates the benefits of collaboration. There are enough viewers out there to share and if they are truly into the subject matter that one of your 'competitors is showing, then in every likelihood, they're going to enjoy yours too.

That's why he's a trusted user haha!

The immediate impact with a collaboration is simply attempting to share each others audience. But that is a very simplistic approach to a tool that can be far more valuable than the immediate gain of a handful of subscribers.

I have done some collaborative work, and even work with a group of like-minded fishing channels. As a collaboration we occasionally fish together and that's fun because it presents our content to an audience who likes what we do but may not be familiar with us. It is also valuable to see someone elses presentation of the exact same content as a means of learning what works (and what doesn't). But it is the behind the scenes stuff that is in my opinion most valuable. With a collaborative group you can help push each others videos when you have something that you are really proud of; it obviously can't be done every video but when you have that one that you really want to shine it's nice to have a group who will help push you on various forums, via social media, community tab etc. It also helps when someone else endorses your work.
Beyond the videos though my group is also great about bouncing ideas off each other and we help each other with insight into our editing, thumbnails etc. We all started Affiliate marketing together, and we all suffered the lack of sales in the first few months that caused us to have our accounts closed... now we all purchase from each others links and because we do Sports/Outdoors we are often hit up by Amazon sellers to help promote their products, which we purchase off each others links as well.

So in synopsis (because I am WAY too long-winded, sorry) a collaboration done correctly can wield a lot of benefits for your channel.

Another great thing about collaborations, is they can push your creativity in ways you didn't expect. They can be a HUGE help in preventing burnout, which is important to note

 

[Jaye]

I see a lot of posts about collaboration and have also been asked. I donΓÇÖt really get it and why. I want to know the good, bad and the ugly on collaboration and the purpose. Has it helped your channel. Is it worth smaller channels collaborating together. Are there such things as bad collaboration. It seems to be something I may need to think about as my channels grows. I understand larger YouTube channels that collaborate with smaller ones could potentially draw traffic to them. But why bother doing it when youΓÇÖre smaller. Sorry if this is a silly question but I need to know all things collaboration. Thankyou

This is not a bad question to ask at all. I was wondering the same thing.

Lets say you have 100 subs and the person you collab with also has 100 subs. You expose your channel to 100 more people by collaborating. (thats a lot in the beginning) Further down the road: both channels have grown. some people still watch the old video and you still get traffic from this other youtube channel.

Collabs probably are the best way to grow in the long run.

Thank you, this was very helpful!

 

[Beanie Draws]

I'm 5 years in, 25k subs and I'm still yet to collaborate. Mostly because I'm not really sure how to craft my kind of content to match and mix with other peoples. I have some ideas forming but it's tough.

I think in terms of collaborations, you want some form of relationship already established. I don't see the benifit of collaborating with strangers. The idea of a collaboration should be a fun differant spin on your content. It adds veriaty, and adds more personalities to your channel, almost like a "team"

Tubebuddy collaborates with quite a few channels.

JackSepticEye plays games with his friends online and records those sessions as collabs.

Some people will interview each other as a collab. Or some people will REFER to another video as a form of collaboration in terms of inspiration.

So one benifit is it adds veriaty while remaining on niche.

If I were to collaborate with a smaller youtuber (and i will be in the future) that will send a potential 25k subscribers to a channel that might only have 50 subscribers. Jazza did some collaborations with his editor in the past, and that editor gained 2000+ subsribers from the collaboration.

What does the bigger channel get out of it? A friendship, content that's a little differant to the norm, plus they receive a good reputation for being nice to the community and helping struggling creators.

 

[LokiTV]

So - we should actively be looking for strategic collaborations? Potentially good for both parties? Obviously the little guy has everything to gain in getting his content out to a much wider audience and the bigger channel gets the kudos for bringing the alternative channel to the attention of their subscribers. It stamps authority on their position which is something IΓÇÖve learned from viral marketing videos IΓÇÖve watched!

So if anyone wishes for a possible collaboration, I have the perfect vehicle.... IΓÇÖll start a new thread this week outlining the details!

 

[VESam]

I personally love the idea of collaborating as a way of making friends with other like-minded people. Obviously there are benefits such as promoting each others channels to new audiences etc which have already been discussed but the biggest benefit in my opinion is the emotional support - you will have people who understand your situation and when you're feeling unmotivated etc, they'll be the people to pick you back up and support you.