STOP using this YouTube Growth Strategy
Looking back on my more-than-a-decade on YouTube, I've realized that one major mistake has held me back from seeing much more growth, engagement, and more business opportunities than I've already had. And don't get me wrong: I feel really grateful for how far I've come. I just know that I could've gotten here faster and with less struggle had I not made this mistake. And hopefully, I can keep you from making it as well.
So, in this episode, we are going to talk about what I did wrong with my YouTube channel, especially in the early days, that kept me from growing faster. And what I'm doing now to fix it. Let's get into it.
The Help, Hub, Hero Method
For you to fully understand the strategic mistake that I made and how it's affected my growth (and how I'm now trying to reverse those effects), you need to understand the Help, Hub, Hero framework for YouTube growth.
I've talked about this before in the past, but the Help, Hub, Hero method is actually a method for YouTube growth that was taught in YouTube's Certification program that's since been retired. But I think it's still a very helpful framework for thinking about YouTube growth.
Essentially, you can think of it like a tripod strategy, with three different legs: Help, Hub, and Hero.
Help: SEO-optimized videos that answer an FAQ, share a method or process, like a tutorial, and generally have a niche audience that might be searching for them.
Hub: staple content that your core audience loves, shares your personality, and gives your regular subscribers something to look forward to every week. It might not pop off in search or blow up on the home page, but it connects deeply with your most loyal audience.
Hero: these are your viral hits - big swings that gather a large audience from the home page that hasn't seen your channel before. These are your major opportunities for growth.
My Mistake? I Focused Too Much on "Help"
When I was first starting out, I focused exclusively on help content in an effort to build up my search traffic. Even recently, I fell into the SEO temptation - I was looking through the search section of YouTube Studio. In the advanced analytics, it actually shows you what people are searching for to find your videos and I saw a key phrase that said “the best vlogging camera for 2023” and so, I made that video - and it ended up being like an 8/10 in terms of performance. Okay, now that's not entirely fair, because over time it could very well perform above average in the long run - but this is not going to be the recipe for a viral hit, or even really a hit among my core audience.
And realistically, here's why:
In the last 90 days, I only had about 900 people find my channel by searching for that.
And overall, YouTube search traffic accounts for only about 25% of my total traffic.
Basically, I think in the past - and even sometimes now it sneaks up on me - this outsized idea of the effectiveness of search on YouTube. In all the YouTube tips videos I ever watched while I was first learning how to grow an audience were all about showing up in search.
Now, I'm not saying that's never helpful - I think it's very important in the early stages of establishing your YouTube channel, say in the first 1000-10,000 subscribers range. But the mistake I made was not evolving beyond that point - I kept using the same methods that grew my channel to 10,000 subscribers thinking that would help me get to 100,000.
How to Target the Home Page Instead of Search on YouTube
The key is to create content that's not only engaging but also binge-worthy. This means that viewers will want to watch more than one of your videos in a single sitting.
So how do you do that? First, you need to focus on developing enticing thumbnails and titles that will increase your click-through rate. This is important because the more people who click on your videos, the more YouTube will recommend them to others.
Second, you need to keep your content engaging and high-quality to increase your watch time and retention. This means making sure that your videos are visually appealing, well-edited, and full of value.
Finally, you need to keep your viewers on the channel by using your outro to lead the viewer to your next video. This is why it's so important to create binge-worthy content. If viewers enjoy one of your videos, they're much more likely to watch another one right away if you make it easy for them to do so.
It sounds creepy, but the YouTube algorithm is watching, and the more people who click your video, watch the whole thing, and then continue to stay on the platform watching more of your videos - the more they will show it to others.
I Got Scared to Evolve or Try New Things
A big part of getting stuck in the "help" content, or "SEO" content phase, is that as creators when we see something working, we get really scared to try something new. Because when you make videos for years and years and see very few results - when you finally do start to see results, you can see how someone might get emotionally attached to doing things that way.
It's like - let's not rock the boat, let's just keep playing the hits and maybe the algorithm (or really - the audience) will keep on liking what I do. And yes - watching your analytics and creating what there is demand for is a smart and strategic way to plan content.
However, an important part of growing an audience, or really, a community - is eventually evolving past basic help content and starting to incorporate that hub and hero content that I mentioned.
Because here's the thing about help content: it's pretty transactional. Imagine this - someone comes to your content because they searched for "how to edit videos in Premiere Pro." They may not end up subscribing because they learned what they needed to from the video, so they're going to move on. If someone finds you from the home page - they're drawn in not by the answer or solution you can offer, but rather the story you're telling. They're much more likely to get attached to you and want to keep following your content. So they'll actually subscribe and become a part of your community.
If I could go back - I would have started figuring out what my "hub" content could be earlier - so that I could incorporate it more often. Instead, I made every single video like it was for someone who's never seen my videos before - trying to make things as succinct and widely palatable as possible - and that's just not a recipe for growing a community.
Community is Everything
And this is the thing: when it comes to longevity on YouTube, the community is everything. Even though it might feel like it's all about getting more eyeballs on your content from search or from the home page, I really think as creators we need to value our ride-or-die, every-video viewers.
The people who are going to click on your video as soon as you upload - those people are worth their weight in gold to you because they are going to be the ones to quick-start your video in the algorithm every time. YouTube's earliest indication of my CTR and retention is going to come from my subscribers, or more like my notification bell people. So you really can't overlook the importance of your community and creating content that nurtures that community feeling.
So Where Do We Go From Here?
Now that you know about my biggest YouTube mistake - what am I doing to move forward? I'm trying to really focus on building that community - you may have noticed I'm sharing more vlog-style content. In the past, I've shied away from that because it doesn't tend to perform as well as some of my more flashy, topical videos. But, I always see those videos have the longest view duration, and they tend to get more comments as well. So I'm leaning into content types that don't go as viral but get lots of engagement from my current viewers.
I'm also trying to get more conversations going in the comments. And I'm experimenting with different styles of videos. These incremental, strategic changes will allow me to test.
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The moral of the story is, you need to be willing to experiment a little, go out on a limb, and see what happens. A bit over a year ago, I was terrified to post vlogs because I knew they would flop. Now, I know that it's an important part of my personal evolution and experimentation to keep my channel fresh and to connect more with my community.
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