Table of Contents
Key Takeaways
- You can grow any channel in any niche – the topic doesn’t matter. Just make it interesting, if people are not actively searching for it.
- Uploading videos regularly is not a requirement to get subscribers.
- That being said, if you want to get subscribers faster, post more often, and post Shorts. You’ll substantially increase your chances of getting views.
How To Get YouTube Subscribers Fast
If you’re looking to explode your YouTube channel’s growth, it’s time to ditch outdated strategies and focus on what truly moves the needle in 2024. Let’s delve into the current landscape:
Clickbait That Isn’t Clickbait
Gone are the days of simply asking for likes and subscriptions.
Instead, pique viewers’ curiosity with titles and thumbnails that spark intrigue. Use open-ended questions, unexpected visuals, and a hint of mystery to make them click.
Think of it as creating a mini-cliffhanger before the video even starts. That’s a great way to get more views.
Your Ticket to Viral Fame
YouTube Shorts are the hottest trend right now. These short-form videos (under 60 seconds) have the potential to reach a massive audience and skyrocket your subscriber count.
Experiment with different Shorts formats – comedy sketches, quick tutorials, behind-the-scenes snippets – and see what resonates with your audience.
Content That Hooks and Holds Attention
Quality content is the foundation of any successful YouTube channel. But it’s not just about good production values; your content needs to be engaging.
Tell stories, use humor, offer unique perspectives, and most importantly, provide value to your viewers.
It’s Not Just About Numbers
Building a community around your channel is crucial for long-term growth. Respond to comments, host live Q&As, and create opportunities for viewers to connect with each other.
A loyal community will not only subscribe but also actively promote your channel.
Collaboration: The Power of Two (or More)
Collaborating with other creators is a win-win situation. You’ll get exposure to their audience, and they’ll get exposure to yours. Look for collaborations that make sense for your niche and audience.
Buying Subscribers
This is the fastest way to get subscribers quickly, by far. Just select the mount of subs you want and their target region, and get them delivered in a matter of hours!
What Doesn’t Work Anymore:
Let’s be clear: the old tactics of begging for likes, comments, and subs are a thing of the past. They come across as desperate and turn viewers off. Similarly, long, pointless intros and videos filled with fluff are a recipe for disaster (you shouldn’t have intros anyway).
Focus on delivering value quickly and efficiently.
Reposting and SEO Alone Won’t Cut It
Reposting other creators’ content is a copyright violation waiting to happen, and it doesn’t help you build your own brand.
While SEO optimization is important, it’s not the sole key to success. Prioritize creating original, engaging content that people will genuinely enjoy watching.
How To Buy YouTube Subscribers
Research Reputable Providers
Ensure you’re looking into well-reviewed and trustworthy providers. Avoid companies that promise instant delivery of thousands of subscribers, as these often use bots or fake accounts, which can harm your channel in the long run.
Choose a Package
Most websites will have a variety of subscriber packages, ranging from a few hundred to several thousand. Consider your budget and channel goals before choosing a package.
Provide Your Channel Link
Once you’ve chosen a package, you’ll need to provide your YouTube channel link. Some providers may ask for additional information, like your target audience or preferred demographics.
Payment
Most platforms accept credit cards or PayPal. Ensure you’re using a secure payment method.
Monitor Your Subscribers
After purchasing, keep an eye on your subscriber count. Legitimate providers should deliver subscribers gradually to avoid raising red flags with YouTube.
Important Considerations:
- Quality Over Quantity: Focus on buying real, active subscribers who will engage with your content.
- Organic Growth: While buying subscribers can provide a temporary boost, it’s crucial to focus on creating high-quality content and engaging with your audience to build a sustainable channel.
- YouTube’s Terms of Service: Buying subscribers goes against YouTube’s terms of service. See below.
A Word Of Caution
Even if it’s safe most of the time, buying YouTube subscribers is against YouTube Terms of Service.
YouTube states that you are not allowed to “cause or encourage any inaccurate measurements of genuine user engagement with the Service, including by paying people or providing them with incentives to increase a video’s views, likes, or dislikes, or to increase a channel’s subscribers, or otherwise manipulate metrics”.
Doing so, “YouTube reserves the right to suspend or terminate your Google account, or your access to all or part of the Service if: (a) you materially or repeatedly breach this Agreement”.
But you’re technically not paying people directly to subscribe to your channel, which is a loophole every service selling YouTube subscribers exploits. That’s why you probably won’t have any issue buying subs, if that’s something you want to do.
Just make sure to use a reputable service, buying an appropriate amount of real subscribers, and get them delivered progressively.
How Long Does It Take to Get 1,000 Subscribers on Youtube
I’ve been on YouTube since early 2018, and launched multiple channels, trying many different strategies and topics. 6 of them hit the 1,000 subscribers mark. Here’s the data:
In a study examining 6 YouTube channels launched between 2018 and 2022, it took an average of 254 days to get 1,000 subscribers, and a median value of 227.5 days. These channels had 36.33 videos posted on average, and a median of 30.5 videos posted.
Let’s Analyze 6 Different Channels (with data)
Channel 1: Lifestyle > Collectibles
This channel talks about collectibles in the men’s fashion niche.
Key facts
- The channel hit 1,000 subscribers in 129 days
- Before that date, I posted 59 videos – that’s 1 video every 2.19 days on average
- Only one video was responsible for 75%+ of these subscribers
This is one of my first YouTube channels ever, and I was very upset that it took so long to get 1,000 subscribers with so many videos.
The reason why is simple.
Before the video that blew up, I was posting content that I thought was interesting.
In retrospect, 80%+ of it was not.
Then I took a deep dive into the comments of my videos and my competitors’ videos, and I noticed that people were always talking aout a specific brand in the niche.
I made a video about that brand, and 2 days later, I hit the 1,000 subscribers milestone. You can clearly see that on the graph above, when it goes vertical – that’s that one video.
At about the same time, that channel hit 4,000 hours of watch time, so I immediately applied for the YouTube Partner Program. Back at the time, it took about 2 months to be reviewed and accepted, but that’s another story.
Channel 2: IT > Saas
This channel is all about online business tools (SaaS) and online IT stuff (think DNS servers, email system setup, …).
Key facts
- The channel hit 1,000 subscribers in 554 days
- Before that date, I published 7 videos during the first 2 months of existence of the channel – that’s 1 video every 79.14 days on average for the whole period (but about 1 video per week if we only take the initial 2 months period)
- 4 of the videos accounted for 83%+ of these YouTube subscribers, with one contributing to 42.1% overall
Even if it took a very long time to reach 1,000 subscribers on this one, this is probably the most interesting channel of the bunch.
I uploaded 7 videos over (not even) 2 months, and then I completely forgot about the channel – that was the strategy from the very beginning.
I didn’t even have to make any kind of keyword research: I knew people were searching for that content from one of my other channels (see channel 6 below).
So, I just uploaded some quality content, and let the YouTube algorithm do its thing.
Next thing you know, I have a channel that earns $200+ like clockwork every single month, without me posting consistently for months on end.
Channel 3: Entertainment > Technology
This is an experiment on YouTube Shorts, kind of a hack to get to 1,000 subs fast. And it worked.
Key facts
- It took 19 days for the channel to get 1,000 subs
- Before that date, I posted 3 videos and about 80 Shorts – that’s one video / Short every 5.49 hour
- Only one Short accounted for all (!!!) of the subscribers, in 2 days
That one Short was picked up by YouTube after around 5 days after I uploaded it, it went viral, and got 5.2 million views (and 28.7k likes).
You can clearly that huge spike in subscribers, in the span of 2 days.
Why that one?
I don’t know. I posted the exact same Short 7 other times (3 before, 4 after), and the second one to get the most views only gained 15.2k views – we’re talking about a 342x difference here!
The reason I uploaded the same Short multiple times is to challenge the assumption that the algorithm is as clever as new YouTubers want to believe it is.
It’s clearly not.
Keep that strategy in the back of your mind though – Shorts are an excellent way to grow a YouTube channel, and they will be monetized starting February 1, 2023 too!
Channel 4: Music > Reactions
I searched for new (or popular) music videos, and I reacted to them on a brand-new YouTube channel.
Key facts
- The channel hit 1,000 subscribers in 114 days
- Before that date, I posted 32 videos – that’s 2 videos per week, like clockwork (I scheduled them in advance)
- Only one video accounted for about 50% of the subs at that date, bringing in 2,000 more subs in just about a month
Even if I managed to get 1k subscribers pretty easily, I would not advise you to start a music reaction channel.
The reason is: it’s super hard to monetize.
If you’re lucky, your videos will get a copyright claim – meaning a part or the totality of your revenue will be perceived by the rights-holders. Most of the time, as soon as you upload them to the platform. If not, during the following weeks / months.
If you’re not lucky, you can get a copyright strike (because some rights-holders don’t like their music being analyzed / criticized).
3 copyright strikes, and your channel is terminated.
And sure, you can still try to make it work by using tracks from Creator Music, but the feature is only available in the U.S. for now, and is not even rolled out yet.
There are other ways to make money on YouTube, so I would move on.
But you do you.
Since then, I pivoted the channel to something entirely different, taking advantage of the fact that monetization was already enabled on it.
Channel 5: Finance > Trading
This channel is about trading, more specifically crypto trading, and it’s not in English (all the other channels are).
Key facts
- It took 382 days for the channel to get 1,000 subs
- Before that date, I posted 5 videos and 3 Shorts over the course of 11 months – that’s one video every 41.25 days on average
- 2 videos accounted for about 53.5% of the subs at that date
On the graph above, you can clearly see 2 bumps.
The first one is when I posted 3 videos (in June 2020).
The second one is when I posted 3 Shorts and 1 video (late November 2020).
So I didn’t post videos every 41.25 days exactly, I batch uploaded them when I had the time to do so (this was a side project).
But if that isn’t an illustration that more videos = more views = more subs, I don’t know what is.
While it took me a bit more than a year to get 1k subs on this one, it’s a good example of:
- slow and steady wins the race
- market research and keyword analysis is paramount
Channel 6: Digital Marketing > SEO
On this channel, I talk about how to grow an online business using WordPress and SEO.
Key facts
- The channel got 1k subscribers in 843 days
- Before that date, I uploaded videos that were not in the same niche
- 1 video brought in about 500 subs, at which point I took the video down
What the hell happened to that channel?
This was my first channel ever, and I uploaded everything and anything that I was thinking about.
The channel had no clear topic, and as such, no clear purpose.
The video that got 500 followers was a video of me playing the piano…
But then I thought: if I make videos that people are searching for, I can get traffic more consistently, right?
You bet. Look at this:
After I made private every video I had on the channel and started posting only about digital marketing, you can see a graph that is much more in line with what we’ve seen before.
Namely, once I sorted my channel strategy and content:
- It took 326 days for the channel to get more 1,000 subscribers (I’m discounting the initial 500 subscribers I already had)
- Before that date, I posted 29 videos – that’s one video every 11.24 days on average
- 1 video brought in 55.4% of the subscribers during that time
The interesting part is:
I spotted some closely-related keywords / topics that got quite a bit of searches, with a great RPM.
So, I used the data from this channel to start a more niche channel (channel #2 above).
And it worked.
This channel also gave me hope that I could make money on YouTube, and it was the spark that lead to all the other channels above, and 5 figures on YouTube in revenue since 2018.
Not too shabby.
But also, it gave me the confidence to start new things and pivot any channel at any time, if I need to.
What Happens When You Get 1,000 Subscribers on YouTube
1. You get a congratulation email
1,000 subscribers might not seem like much to some, but let’s be real, it’s a pretty big deal. You should be proud of yourself for reaching a milestone that many others will never even come close to (you’re better than 91.1% of all YouTube channels, according to this research).
Even YouTube welcomes you in the club with an email containing a weirdly enjoyable GIF image:
2. You can apply for the YouTube Partner Program (YPP)
… but only if you also have at least 4,000 hours of public watch time in the 12 months preceding your application. (Or more specifically, the preceding 365 days.)
Alternatively, you can also get 10 million Shorts views in 90 days.
So while getting 1,000 subscribers is mandatory to get accepted in the YouTube Partner Program, it’s unfortunately not enough.
3. Your channel’s subscriber count display format changes
This might be a subtle difference… but it makes all the difference in the world!
You will go from “999” to “1.00K”, and it will look like this:
Why is important?
Having a large number of subscribers not only tells new viewers that your channel is worth watching, but it also helps to convert those viewers into subscribers themselves.
Who wouldn’t want to join a community of fans who are already enjoying your content? The more subscribers you have, the more likely it is that you’ll continue to grow your audience and keep them engaged with your videos.
YouTube Subscribers FAQ
How Much Money Do You Make on YouTube With 1,000 Subscribers?
You don’t make any money on YouTube because you have subscribers – you make money because you get views.
- If you’re part of the YouTube Partner Program, you can directly monetize your videos, meaning you’ll get money for AdSense playing ads before and during your video.
- If you’re not monetized yet, there are other ways to make money on YouTube: by signing brand deals, having affiliate links in your video descriptions or by offering your services as a freelance content creator or consultant.
You can check an estimate of how much money a monetized video has made here.
Do You Get a Play Button for 1,000 Subscribers?
You don’t get a play button or plaque for 1,000 YouTube subscribers. You don’t even get a YouTube Creator Award when you hit 10k subscribers. You can only get one when you get at least 100k subscribers, but only “at YouTube’s sole discretion and we only recognize creators that have played by the rules”. (Source)
How Many Videos Do You Need to Get 1,000 Subscribers
You don’t need a set number of videos to get 1,000 subscribers. Some channels hit that milestone with just one regular video or a Short. Some channels have posted a few dozens videos to get there.
Creating enjoyable videos that make people binge watch your channel is the best strategy to grow your YouTube channel. Asking viewers to subscribe helps, but you need great content to get there.
Why Does YouTube Require 1,000 Subscribers ?
YouTube needs a critical mass of videos and subscribers before they can make an informed judgement whether your channel meets the monetization policies. Before accepting your channel in the YPP, YouTube needs to make sure the majority of your videos play by the rules.