With 2.9 billion monthly active users worldwide, YouTube is the king of online videos. As the platform continues to add new features, its focus shifts, and the ways users can earn a living off the platform evolves as well. Every year, there are new videos on how to increase YouTube subscription numbers and build a loyal community.
YouTube Partner Program
Success is often defined as earning monetization status through the YouTube Partner Program (YPP) and attracting brand deals. Currently, to be a part of the YPP, you need to have 4,000 watch hours in the last 12 months and 1,000 subscribers. Once you reach that status, you can start putting ads on your videos and make a portion of the advertising revenue generated from views.
Many YouTubers have made a good amount of money this way. Before new content creators can reach that goal though, they need to grow an active audience. In this article, we will discuss some growth tactics to expand your YouTube livestreaming audience.
Benefits of Livestreaming
Why YouTube livestreaming? Because livestreaming is a great way to connect with your audience, and it can help you gain new subscribers faster. Livestreaming allows you to show your real personality, the human side of your business, and answer questions in real-time. This helps establish trust and credibility.
"Success is often defined as earning monetization status through the YouTube Partner Program (YPP) and attracting brand deals."
Tips to Expand Your Audience
If you’re thinking about starting a YouTube Live channel or growing the one you have, here are some tips to help you expand your audience:
- Pay attention to your channel analytics and do more of what is working.
- Share your story so viewers can connect with you on a deeper level.
- Browse YouTube for inspiration and put a unique spin on things.
- Show appreciation by interacting with fans who showed up for your livestream.
- Promote your livestreams by sharing the link to the scheduled stream on other social media platforms so your followers there know about it as well.
- Collaborate with other YouTubers to produce content for a larger shared audience; you won’t feel like you are talking to yourself.
Livestreaming consistently on YouTube solidified my spot as an industry leader and opened the door for corporate sponsorships, affiliate partnerships, and professional production roles—all before I was able to join the YouTube Partner Program. I say this to encourage you not to give up because you don’t have 1,000 subscribers. Keep creating, and opportunities will present themselves to expand your audience online and offline.
"You aren't alone if you haven't published your first video, and it is not too late to do so."
You aren’t alone if you haven’t published your first video though, and it is not too late to do so. Here are some livestream features that can help you reach your growth goals:
- The ability to invite a guest to your YouTube Livestream by sending them a link. This feature is called “Go Live Together.”
- To increase discovery, “Live Rings” will now appear around a channel’s profile picture to identify when a creator is live. When you tap on the ring, you will be directed to the livestream.
- “Cross-Channel Live Re-Direct” will allow creators with 1,000 subscribers and no active community guideline strikes to send viewers to another livestream or premiere.
- “Full-Screen Mode” for livestreams will allow an unobstructed view of your video. The two viewing experiences are the “Lean-In” video that splits the screen with your live chat or the “Lean Back Mode” that completely collapses chat overlay.
- You can also join other people’s livestreams as a viewer and click on the “Join Livestream” button that will appear in the bottom right corner of the video player. When you click it, you’ll be able to watch the stream and chat with other viewers in a real-time chat room.
"You have to be willing to put in the time and effort to grow your channel and foster a community around it."
Put in the Work
Growing your YouTube audience takes a lot of hard work and dedication. You have to be willing to put in the time and effort to grow your channel and foster a community around it. It’s worth it, though, to have a dedicated fanbase who support you by showing up as you continue to support them by producing valuable content.
I know getting in front of the camera and going live can be hard enough. Thinking about which streaming software, switching hardware, audio equipment, camera, and lighting to use should be easy.
AeroCaster for Livetreaming
The Roland AeroCaster Livestreaming System is for the streamer in search of a quick and easy multiple-camera setup—using mostly gear they already own. With the AeroCaster, you can use an iPad with the companion app to wirelessly connect to other iPhone or Android camera phones and create an immersive livestream production. You can even use pre-recorded videos as part of your stream to showcase behind-the-scenes content.
The AeroCaster Livestreaming System removes barriers to going live by providing an affordable multi-camera and audio source solution with free companion software. Plus, there is no subscription required.
"Stay focused and keep creating, one video, one post at a time, and you can reach your content creation goals."
Focus on Creating
Stay focused and keep creating, one video, one post at a time, and you can reach your content creation goals. For more tips on growing your channel, there is an online resource called YouTube Creators Channel. This website is designed to offer tutorials, articles, and livestreams to help you get the most out of your content.