I have had a YouTube channel for years. Until recently, I didn’t have a focused theme. I was all over the place uploading videos that addressed many topics.
Anything that took my fancy, I’d turn on my camera or iPhone and voila! a video was created.
Although some of my videos received thousands of views, most of them had less than 100 views each. Not a good return on investment for the time it takes to shoot a video and upload it.
The amount of work that goes into a video with 10 views compared to 10,000 views is the same.
This supports the philosophy of planning your marketing regardless of the avenues you choose.
YouTube is powerful for marketing
YouTube is one of the most powerful resources for marketing and visibility. However, as I discovered through careful analysis, it takes more, much more than just uploading videos.
My goal with my YouTube channel and videos is to teach viewers how to market their books, sell more books, and make more money in their business. With this in mind, I am adjusting my efforts to achieve greater results from my efforts. You will be well served to do the same.
Be clear on your purpose and goals
To get the most out of your efforts, you need to be very clear about the purpose of your channel.
You also need to optimize your videos with some simple strategies including your video title, playlist names, description, and call to action.
My focus is all about marketing and book sales. As I create content-driven videos, my focus SHOULD be on the topic at hand. Doing so will get better results and make it easier for viewers to benefit from the content.
Video Title
Your headline should appeal to your ideal viewer. Create a title that is accurate and clearly describes what people will see. If your videos are part of a series or theme, add a common phrase to the title.
For example, for my book marketing videos, I start the title with “Book Marketing” or “Book Marketing Strategies.” This makes it much easier for those interested in book marketing to find the videos.
playlists
The playlist feature keeps your videos organized in a way that makes them easier for your viewer to find. A playlist is a collection of videos.
Viewers generally enjoy watching more than one video on a topic. Playlists allow them to do this with ease. Playlists allow you to organize your videos into easy-to-find sections.
Description
The video description is an important part of getting lots of views. Keep descriptions concise and compelling. Add a link to your blog or website at the beginning of the description. Make sure to add http:// to the URL.
At the end of your description, add a CTA: call to action. For example, if you have a free gift that is directly related to the topic of the video, add it to the end of the description. Of course, not everyone will accept the free offer, but even if 10% of viewers do, this can equate to many new subscribers over time.
Although YouTube has a 5,000 character limit for descriptions, you don’t need to use all 5,000 characters. People want quick and easy information. Less is more in most cases.
Call to action (CTA)
As the name suggests, a CTA is designed to get viewers to take a specific action. You can have a CTA in the video and in the description. It is true that I have not used the CTA in videos in the most effective way possible… until now. In the future, I plan to add a CTA to my videos, especially those about book marketing.
Something as simple as “Remember to subscribe to this channel” can make your viewers take action.
A CTA in your description can increase the size of your subscriber list by offering a high value giveaway.
The bottom line is this, YouTube can be a great way to serve your market AND increase your influence. As with anything, the more strategic you are, the better.
Think about what you want to achieve. It’s better to have fewer videos that are fully optimized than many videos that don’t give you results.