YouTube Opinion The Hidden Value of 1,000 Subscribers

[Stanley | Team TB]

It is unfortunate that so much emphasis is put on the 1k subscriber milestone these days (and subsequently so little on the 4k watchtime requirement). There is some very real value that is being lost in the race to monetization.

YouTube isn't like other social media platforms. In fact the value of the subscriber is highly, highly misrepresented. On Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or other platforms it seems it is standard; the more followers the better, that is as long as they are not purchased or the result of sub 4 sub. These have a direct, financial impact on YouTube but they affect the performance and your ability to monetize those platforms as well. On YouTube subscribers are a collection of fans. They are people not only investing their time into the work that you do but by subscribing they are inherently comitting future time to you in order to see the work that you do. Either you are creating content that is worth subscribing to and seeing more of, or they believe that you have the potential to be something special and they are willing to invest their time into watching you grow and become the creator they believe you can be.
The former is awesome; it is a direct reflection of your talents. The latter however is even more valuable. You see those that stick with you over time can/will grow along with you. They will set their schedules according to the content that you post. They will remember and look forward to milestones, birthdays and significant events with you. This is how you create superfans. By growing with them you invite them to be a part of the journey. You need to cultivate these relationships, particularly early on. Honor them. When you hit 1,000 subscribers and when you monetize they will remember when they were the 35th subscriber or the 510th subscriber. And they will be the ones celebrating with superchats and buying shirts a year or two from now.

And when you hit 10,000 it will be these superfans who are buying channel memberships. Think about that NOW when you are growing your channel; the decisions you make now and the fan base that you are currently cultivating will directly impact their behavior years from now. Be the person they want to subscribe to.

 

[DamoΓÇÖs Paintings]

I agree and well written.

It seems that monetization has become somewhat a race, or a desperately needed thing by creators that more often than not, have rubbish content, and when itΓÇÖs not going well, those creators then go trolling everywhere begging for subscribers and watch time, or go on a rant fest and start spewing a tsunami of self pity and venting, when all that energy couldΓÇÖve been put to better use, like researching the niche and finding out whatΓÇÖs popular and what people want to watch, and building a professional looking channel.

Anyways this is an endurance game where those that are patient with their channel with consistent uploads will see some results, and of course posting stuff people want to see from us.

 

[Stanley | Team TB]

Man I could not have said it better myself It's very true. The problem is the psyche that is promoted in the media (and on social media). The idea that YouTubers are the epitomy of the 'overnight success' and that all you need to do is film a few videos and the world will revolve around you. Nobody mentions the hard work, the countless hours spent learning the craft and figuring out how to film, promote and then properly organize the content for SEO purposes.

One of my all-time favorite quotes:
ΓÇ£When nothing seems to help, I go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it, but all that had gone before.ΓÇ¥

-Jacob Riis

 

[InspirationalbyMarie]

Thanks for your very relevant point of view @DamoΓÇÖs Paintings and @Stanley Orchard I think that both of you make valuable points, to add to this I think though that new you tubers don't really understand this when they start. Well, I didn't in April, in fact, I thought that number of views was watch time.
I heard everyone talking about monetisation and thought that was it. It is only on my journey I realised about the value of watch time, audience retention, engagement, and those supportive subscribers, etc. The engagement on my page is great considering the number of subscribers I have and I am appreciative but it takes a lot of work and thought into keeping this going as you have both said, nobody sees that.
It has been a real learning curve as you don't really get someone to sit down and actually tell you. (Well I didn't)
However, Forums like this really help and support but only after you know what you are looking for in the first place. You then get to that Aha moment and the dots start to connect.
Compared to when I started now that I have researched and gained further and daily knowledge. I have more of an idea of what the priorities are etc.
I now don't mind if people take away their subscriptions because I don't subscribe back as I know its harmful to my channel in all ways.

 

[LouisFrost]

I unfortunately had this mindset back then. which led me to believe;

More Subs = Better

Quite the opposite which is probably why I never really got anywhere. I only thought of it as "I can brag to my friends if I can get more subs" the feeling of microfamous doesnt really mean much without even having a solid backbone.

I would always do sub4sub and ask nonestop my friends to subscribe, which was a big no. If they are really there for your content then they will sub regardless.

I have had my fair share of experience on youtube. I started a new and left the old self behind.

I went back to basic and changed my mentality.

 

[Gideon kolawole]

very very true
what you said is the truth sir

 

[Kari B]

@Stanley Orchard I completely agree with you. I love seeing comments from my fans on my videos, they have taken the time to watch my content and then comment and that means so much to me. I have a few that have been with me for a while and their support means more than 1000 sub4subs I could get.
I see a lot of comments on here and in the Facebook groups I belong to, asking for tips on how to get their 1000 subscribers quick, and it seems that not many of them have considered what happens after they get them. They may get 1000 subs, they may get 4000 watch hours, but then what? You can have 1m subscribers but it won't make you any money if you don't continue to post good content.
My next goal is 1000 subs, but not because it hopefully means I can monetise (although that is a great bonus) but because it's a nice round number. My first goal was 100, then 1000 then 10,000, and in my dream goals 100,000. I'm happy to make mistakes while I'm still small and learning, it's much less embarrassing doing it now than doing it in front of 10,000 subs. If people like me enough to subscribe now while my videos are still pretty raw and can always be improved (published is better than perfect) then I hope they will love me once I've had time to find my style, hone my editing skills and produce better videos for them.

 

[Ater]

I agree. That's a reason to why I personally value views higher than subscriber numbers when I look at other channels. Views are a sign that the channel is doing something right since the videos get picked up and recommended by the algorithm and audience retention and viewer engagement is key for that to happen. Don't get me wrong I value someone who subscribe to my channel extremely high, much higher than a random viewer and I also value community building as probably the most valuable thing you can succeed with on YouTube.

But when I look at channels from just a numbers perspective. I have seen channels with hundreds of thousands of subscribers just getting 1000 views a video and I have seen channels with 10k subs getting 50 views a video. At the same time I have seen channels with just 1000 subscribers getting 2k+ on videos with every now and then a video getting 10k+. And I would rather be the channel with 1k subs that are getting thousands of views then the channel with 10k subs getting 50 views.

Based on that if I had to pick between going from 1000 subscribers and 400 000k views year one to either 2k subscribers and 500 000 views or 1500 subscribers and 800 000 views year two I would pick the later. But of course I would prefer and aim for 2k subs and 800k views. But it probably depends on what type of channel your have and the potential that type of channel have for community building.

 

[Ater]

When reading comments from others in this forum and other YouTube focused form I feel like a lot of people have very unrealistic expectations from what will happen when they get monetized. It often sounds like as soon as they get monetized they will be able to pay rent and buy all that expensive equipment they always dreamt of. When reality is that most people who just got monetized probably will make between 1$ - 20$ a month. Sure it's a start but they need to understand that in most cases there will be a long step, sometimes years, between getting monetized and actually start making a decent amount of money.

 

[Chartise Tha Cooker]

It is unfortunate that so much emphasis is put on the 1k subscriber milestone these days (and subsequently so little on the 4k watchtime requirement). There is some very real value that is being lost in the race to monetization.

YouTube isn't like other social media platforms. In fact the value of the subscriber is highly, highly misrepresented. On Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or other platforms it seems it is standard; the more followers the better, that is as long as they are not purchased or the result of sub 4 sub. These have a direct, financial impact on YouTube but they affect the performance and your ability to monetize those platforms as well. On YouTube subscribers are a collection of fans. They are people not only investing their time into the work that you do but by subscribing they are inherently comitting future time to you in order to see the work that you do. Either you are creating content that is worth subscribing to and seeing more of, or they believe that you have the potential to be something special and they are willing to invest their time into watching you grow and become the creator they believe you can be.
The former is awesome; it is a direct reflection of your talents. The latter however is even more valuable. You see those that stick with you over time can/will grow along with you. They will set their schedules according to the content that you post. They will remember and look forward to milestones, birthdays and significant events with you. This is how you create superfans. By growing with them you invite them to be a part of the journey. You need to cultivate these relationships, particularly early on. Honor them. When you hit 1,000 subscribers and when you monetize they will remember when they were the 35th subscriber or the 510th subscriber. And they will be the ones celebrating with superchats and buying shirts a year or two from now.

And when you hit 10,000 it will be these superfans who are buying channel memberships. Think about that NOW when you are growing your channel; the decisions you make now and the fan base that you are currently cultivating will directly impact their behavior years from now. Be the person they want to subscribe to.

 

[Chartise Tha Cooker]

Yeah it's very hard to reach 1000 subscriber's

 

[SILTHW]

When reading comments from others in this forum and other YouTube focused form I feel like a lot of people have very unrealistic expectations...

The "get rich quick" mentality has always been around, but with COVID I have seen a huge boom in the "how to get rich on the internet" types of posts, ads, etc. as people look for ways to make money from home. I see people advertising YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, etc. with these "become an influencer in 30 days" types of posts.

Sadly, it creates a lot of false hope and trivializes the work it takes to be successful in any endeavor.

 

[MiddleofKnowhere]

Really well said. I may have to start shifting focus from sub count and look more at the views, which for me, has been increasing steadily over 2020. I don't have a get rich quick mentality, but I'm not gonna lie either that getting monetized would be nice as well. I think if I keep posting vids, keep working on my craft to make them better in filming and editing, then the rest will come.

 

[Stanley | Team TB]

I think that is a great point @Middle of Knowhere there is a difference in perspective for the first 1,000 subscribers versus the pot YPP subscriber base. I do believe that you need to hit that first 1k as quickly as possible (within reason; this isn't free pass for sub swapping or buying subs). The problem is the near-sighted nature of so many content creators when they begin their journey. The focus is all wrong. If you focus on the 4k hours by making good content and doing what you need to get the views and watchtime needed, combine this with simple best practices and you are going to have a hard time NOT getting your 1,000 subscribers. Not to mention your foundation atfter having done so will be SO much more solid.

 

[TubeBuddy]

Very well written stanley nice job!