- 2,641
- 25
- Subscriber Goal
- 250000
I saw a couple people asking about this in the forums and decided to take a moment to break down the things that idid to hit 4,000 watch hours in about 8 months.
Go Big
The first thing I did was to start with a desire for creating content that was catered towards mainstream television. I wanted my videos capable of pulling a 30 minute timeslot for Netflix, Hulu or even network/cable television. Which means a video run time of 19-21 minutes. Now that was several years ago and I have adjusted my formula for the platform, but I still aim for 15-18 minute videos WHEN I AM ABLE TO DO SO. If that content that I have captured only warrants a three minute video then I do a three minute video, but I try very hard to capture 3-4 hours worth of footage that is then edited down to a 15-20 minute time slot. Making longer-form content like this really helps to fill in the watchtime, but you need to be careful. Don't start making 20 minute videos just because you want it to be 20 minutes. If you start turning off your viewers because your videos are too long and don't offer content that keeps them interested for the full 20 minutes then you are going to start losing views, your video is going to underperform and get lost in search and then it isn't going to gain anything at all. Initially I would suggest simply bumping up your video length by...
Adding Some Creativity
Outdoors guys do this by buying a drone. That is like the first thing we do in order to to dress up our videos, but the premise behind that is simple. You want to start adding some nice b-roll to your videos. Keep them punchy and fun to watch with some real nice cutaway shots. Drone footage is awesome, but so is some buttery-smooth slow-motion, some cinematic sunsets and enjoying margaritas with the friends set to a jazzy soundtrack. If you can use a montage of cool footage to increase your video length by 1 minute then that is a win! Another trick that I tend to do is to add in the before and after sequences. That is to say that when I go on a fishing trip I often try to cut that into 2-3 videos. Since I know I am doing this in advance it allows me to double up on the number of posts I make per week but it also allows me to recycle some of that footage. I make the first video, and then I end it with a small montage of what is coming up in the next video. The next video begins with a montage reflecting on what happened in the last video etc. This adds maybe 15-20 seconds per video. But literally every little bit helps.
Go Live
Doing a weekly livestream is not going to make or break your overall watchtime... but man it will make a difference. If you can be consistent and do your livestream every single week you are going to collect followers who enjoy that time when they get to sit back and spend an hour chatting with their friends. Another trick is to make friends with other YouTube creators who go live and come up with a schedule; if you take 8 a.m. until 9 a.m. and then they take 9 a.m. until 10 a.m. you are creating a block of content that is going to be very appealing for people who want something to take their mind off their day at that time. You will need to help promote for two shows etc and you only get only hour out of it, but the value to your audience can be immeasurable if done right. And look at the math of this:
Go live for one hour per week 50 weeks per year and get just ten people to watch. That equals 500 watch hours. No, it isn't going to kill the 4k but man it puts a serious dent in it.
Master Your SEO
Every conversation on TubeBuddy seems to end with this, and for good reason. These videos and livestreams don't do much for you if you have no reach and 80 subscribers. You don't need 1,000 subscribers to reach people though. You just need to find things that people are searching for which they are not getting answers for. Make 50 videos that people enjoy watching on topics that they need information and give them compelling, actionable thumbnails to click on and you will win the 4k battle quickly. It only takes one video to perform really well and garner that watch time... but it absolutely doesn't hurt to have 25 videos performing every single day in search as you continue to drop new vids for the audience that you do have.
Bonus Tip For Gaining Traffic
Just a little note for those of you looking for an extra way to get noticed and gain some watchtime in the process. Go make friends with brands that align with your niche. For example I do a fishing channel and I made friends with the social media account of a cast net company. They were active and seeking engagement on Social Media. I jumped in to help them promote their product. I never asked for anything in return mind you, I simply provided value for them. At one point I heard they needed some help with their blog, and so I offered to do some writing for them and when i did so Imade sure to write articles that I could then include my own affiliate links and my own video links into. Now I am getting contstant traffic from their website, and I made a valuable friendship in the industry! Total Win-Win!
Go Big
The first thing I did was to start with a desire for creating content that was catered towards mainstream television. I wanted my videos capable of pulling a 30 minute timeslot for Netflix, Hulu or even network/cable television. Which means a video run time of 19-21 minutes. Now that was several years ago and I have adjusted my formula for the platform, but I still aim for 15-18 minute videos WHEN I AM ABLE TO DO SO. If that content that I have captured only warrants a three minute video then I do a three minute video, but I try very hard to capture 3-4 hours worth of footage that is then edited down to a 15-20 minute time slot. Making longer-form content like this really helps to fill in the watchtime, but you need to be careful. Don't start making 20 minute videos just because you want it to be 20 minutes. If you start turning off your viewers because your videos are too long and don't offer content that keeps them interested for the full 20 minutes then you are going to start losing views, your video is going to underperform and get lost in search and then it isn't going to gain anything at all. Initially I would suggest simply bumping up your video length by...
Adding Some Creativity
Outdoors guys do this by buying a drone. That is like the first thing we do in order to to dress up our videos, but the premise behind that is simple. You want to start adding some nice b-roll to your videos. Keep them punchy and fun to watch with some real nice cutaway shots. Drone footage is awesome, but so is some buttery-smooth slow-motion, some cinematic sunsets and enjoying margaritas with the friends set to a jazzy soundtrack. If you can use a montage of cool footage to increase your video length by 1 minute then that is a win! Another trick that I tend to do is to add in the before and after sequences. That is to say that when I go on a fishing trip I often try to cut that into 2-3 videos. Since I know I am doing this in advance it allows me to double up on the number of posts I make per week but it also allows me to recycle some of that footage. I make the first video, and then I end it with a small montage of what is coming up in the next video. The next video begins with a montage reflecting on what happened in the last video etc. This adds maybe 15-20 seconds per video. But literally every little bit helps.
Go Live
Doing a weekly livestream is not going to make or break your overall watchtime... but man it will make a difference. If you can be consistent and do your livestream every single week you are going to collect followers who enjoy that time when they get to sit back and spend an hour chatting with their friends. Another trick is to make friends with other YouTube creators who go live and come up with a schedule; if you take 8 a.m. until 9 a.m. and then they take 9 a.m. until 10 a.m. you are creating a block of content that is going to be very appealing for people who want something to take their mind off their day at that time. You will need to help promote for two shows etc and you only get only hour out of it, but the value to your audience can be immeasurable if done right. And look at the math of this:
Go live for one hour per week 50 weeks per year and get just ten people to watch. That equals 500 watch hours. No, it isn't going to kill the 4k but man it puts a serious dent in it.
Master Your SEO
Every conversation on TubeBuddy seems to end with this, and for good reason. These videos and livestreams don't do much for you if you have no reach and 80 subscribers. You don't need 1,000 subscribers to reach people though. You just need to find things that people are searching for which they are not getting answers for. Make 50 videos that people enjoy watching on topics that they need information and give them compelling, actionable thumbnails to click on and you will win the 4k battle quickly. It only takes one video to perform really well and garner that watch time... but it absolutely doesn't hurt to have 25 videos performing every single day in search as you continue to drop new vids for the audience that you do have.
Bonus Tip For Gaining Traffic
Just a little note for those of you looking for an extra way to get noticed and gain some watchtime in the process. Go make friends with brands that align with your niche. For example I do a fishing channel and I made friends with the social media account of a cast net company. They were active and seeking engagement on Social Media. I jumped in to help them promote their product. I never asked for anything in return mind you, I simply provided value for them. At one point I heard they needed some help with their blog, and so I offered to do some writing for them and when i did so Imade sure to write articles that I could then include my own affiliate links and my own video links into. Now I am getting contstant traffic from their website, and I made a valuable friendship in the industry! Total Win-Win!
