According to TubeBuddy, an average channel that reaches 1000 subscribers has uploaded 152 videos on their channel.
That’s a lot of videos.
It took me 323 000 views, 109 videos, and 11 shorts to get monetized after the first 10.5 months of starting my YouTube channel.
During that time I made a lot of silly mistakes and learned a lot of valuable lessons.
If I had to grow a YouTube channel all over again, I’m confident that I would reach 1000 subscribers a lot faster.
So here’s my guide on how to get 1000 subs on YouTube this year:
1. Optimize Videos For Search Traffic
At the beginning of your channel’s journey, YouTube search is your best friend.
Most people don’t know you yet and the best way to get discovered as a small channel is by ranking your videos on search phrases that people search for.
Instead of you finding them – your audience finds you.
In order to rank on YouTube search you have to do keyword research and optimize your videos for SEO.
TubeBuddy is a browser extension that I recommend for most people starting out on YouTube.
It’s one of the best SEO tools that can show you how many people search for a key phrase on YouTube and how much competition there is for that phrase (essentially, how many people have already made a video on that topic).
I made a full review of this Chrome extension here.
2. Use Tools To Help You Out
To grow your channel faster you can take advantage of YouTube automation tools that help you with the video production process:
- Notion – for planning your videos
- Epidemic Sound– for getting sound effects & background music
- Google Trends – for looking up keyword trends
- Envato Elements – for stock video (if you want free stock video then Pexels is the way to
- Photoshop – for making thumbnails.
- Premiere Pro – for editing videos. DaVinci Resolve is a good free alternative.
- Upwork – for hiring freelancers later down the line.
3. Define Your Target Audience
Your niche is very important when trying to grow from 0 to 1000 subscribers.
All of us have many interests and talking about one topic can seem boring.
But think about the YouTube channels that you watch yourself.
Most of them have a clearly defined niche.
When you grow on YouTube, your audience starts to get to know you and you can start making videos about random topics because your audience isn’t interested in the topic – they care about you.
In the beginning – the opposite is true.
The sad truth is that when you have 0 subscribers no one knows who you are and no one cares.
The best way to grow is to provide value to other people.
This is where defining your target audience becomes very important.
You need to figure out to who you’re providing value.
By trying to please everyone you end up pleasing no one. Focus on 1 person.
I like to think about my audience as one person.
I make my videos keeping that one person in mind and at all times and thinking about how can I help them.
That’s why if you don’t know who that person is, it’s very hard to make a video for them.
You’ll find that when you niche down and focus on providing value to one person, your channel will start to grow a lot faster.
P.S. I also made this free Notion template that has everything I know about growing a YouTube channel from complete scratch. If you’ve read this far I’m sure you’ll love it.
Get a free Notion template with the tutorial for the game of YouTube
🚀 10+ Notion pages about how to play the YouTube game
⚙️ List of tools & gear for YouTubers
🧑⚖️ How to make your first video and get your channel off the ground
💰 Detailed guide about finding your niche & making money
4. Upload Upload Upload
Long-term consistency beats short-term intensity.
The hardest part about YouTube is publishing videos consistently and trying to improve at least 1% with each upload.
“If you can publish at least 1 video per week for 2 years I guarantee your life will change.” – Ali Abdaal
If you’re just starting out chances are that you don’t have the necessary skills to master YouTube.
Take a look at some of your favorite YouTuber’s channels’ old videos (if they are still listed).
They most likely were terrible at making their first videos.
It took Marques Brownlee 100 videos to reach 76 subscribers.
Think about that.
To get good faster take the quantity approach not the quality approach.
You will most likely put tons of hours into your first few videos but the reality is that probably no one is going to watch them.
That’s why the point of your first 50-100 videos is to learn YouTube.
Try to improve at least some tiny aspect of each video that you upload, whether it’s learning what an L cut is, the way you talk to the camera, learning to make your audio sound better, or watching a tutorial on lighting setups before you set out to record a video.
I recommend YouTube itself and Skillshare as great places for new creators to learn skills and kickstart their growth to 1000 subscribers.
I also compiled this list of the best courses on Skillshare for YouTubers which also might be helpful.
Here’s a free 30-day Skillshare trial:
5. Learn The Editing Basics
Good editing is one of the essential parts of every YouTube video.
It dictates the flow and the story.
Video editing is a technical skill which means that it’s very hard to learn without a lot of repetition.
That’s why going for quantity when first trying to grow to 1000 subscribers will help you improve your video quality and editing skills a lot faster than trying to go for quality.
You need to get your reps in to become good.
Good editing is like health, no one notices it when it’s good but everyone will notice if it starts to be bad.
Here’s how to improve your edits:
- Cut out all the breaths and silences in between words
- Keep only the information that is relevant to your video’s topic – cut out all the unnecessary fluff
- Use attention interrupts – text, pop-ups, titles, transitions, b-roll, sound effects, etc. I recommend Evato Elements for getting all of these creative assets under one subscription.
- Make sure your audio quality is top-notch and well-balanced between the voice-over and background music. People will watch a video with bad video quality but not with bad audio quality. I have a Skillshare course about how to make iPhone microphone audio sound professional for YouTube videos.
6. Market Your Video (Thumbnail + Title)
“If people don’t click, they don’t watch” – Mr.Beast
When you’re channel is under 1000 subscribers it’s very hard to stand out among the competition if your thumbnails and titles are average.
Here’s a beginner’s guide on how to make killer YouTube thumbnails.
Here’s a beginner’s guide on how to write YouTube titles that viewers can’t resist.
I make my YouTube thumbnails with Photoshop but if you’ve never used this software before it might be hard to learn all the hidden Photoshop tips & keyboard shortcuts.
Canva Pro is a great alternative to Adobe Photoshop and makes it a lot easier to create stunning thumbnails with its pre-made templates and thousands of free creative assets.
7. Create Video Production Systems
Before reaching 1000 subscribers the goal is to learn YouTube and become good at making videos.
That requires making a lot of videos for a long time.
So to make the video production process easier we can create systems to help us streamline it.
1. Batching content
Batching means doing the same type of task for multiple YouTube videos at once.
Instead of working on 1 video at a time you can work on 5.
For example, instead of recording a voice-over for 1 video, you can script 5 videos in advance and then record the voice-over for all of them at once.
Or instead of editing 1 video, you can edit 5 at a time.
Batching reduces the amount of set-up time for each task and lets you make more videos in the same amount of time that it would take you to make them separately.
2. Outsourcing
If you have the money you can outsource editing on Fiverr.
For most YouTubers editing takes up the most amount of time and is very hard to learn if you’re starting from 0.
If you’ve edited a few videos yourself, and understand the basics, there’s no reason to continue doing it yourself because that time could be spent on higher-value tasks such as recording videos or coming up with new ideas.
However, if your channel is under 1000 subscribers and is not making any money through other streams of income, then outsourcing editing might not be the best move financially.
3. Using software
Using software can help you automate your YouTube channel and make space for more valuable activities when trying to reach 1000 subscribers.
For instance, if you use a tool like Jasper while scripting, you can write scripts a lot faster with the help of AI.
Or you can save a lot of time by doing keyword research with TubeBuddy instead of typing search phrases into the YouTube search bar and seeing what it suggests.
8. Utilize YouTube Shorts
YouTube Shorts are the best way to grow your YouTube channel to 1000 subscribers.
Shorts viewers usually don’t convert well to long-form viewers but they convert very well into subscribers.
In fact, my own channel reached 4000 hours of watch time (which is one of the two YouTube partner program monetization requirements) before I got to 1000 subscribers.
So I started making YouTube Shorts and my subscriber count exploded within the first month of posting Shorts.
Here is a guide that I made to help you get more views and subscribers by creating YouTube Shorts:
1000 YouTube Subscriber FAQ:
Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about getting to 1000 YouTube subscribers:
Is it hard to get 1000 subscribers on YouTube?
Yes. To an average person, it’s very hard to learn YouTube and get 1000 subscribers. According to TubeBuddy, an average channel that reaches 1000 subscribers has uploaded 152 videos on their channel.
How much money do you get for 1000 YouTube subscribers?
You’ll make $0 from YouTube Adsense from your first 1000 subscribers. The money you earn on YouTube depends on monetized views, not subscribers. 1000 subscribers are needed to join the YouTube partner program and start earning money from YouTube ads.
How to get subscribers fast?
The fastest way to get subscribers is to make content that people want to watch more of – to make the best videos possible.
YouTube Shorts are a great way to grow subscribers fast on YouTube because they usually get significantly more views than long-form videos.
Can I buy 1000 subscribers on YouTube?
Buying YouTube subscribers is against the terms of service. Buying subscribers can lead to your channel getting fewer views because the subscribers you bought will not be interested in your YouTube videos.
When a new video is published, the YouTube algorithm first suggests it to the most loyal viewers and if your news subscribers don’t watch that video, YouTube will stop recommending it to others.
Genuine subscribers that enjoy your content are a million times more valuable than the subscribers you buy.
How to get 1000 subs in 24 hours?
To get 1000 YouTube subscribers in 24 hours you have to go viral.
It’s easier to go viral with YouTube Shorts because you can create more of them in the same amount of time compared to long-form videos.
How can I get 1k subscribers for free?
You can get 1k subscribers on YouTube by uploading content that people want to watch.
If you consistently make good quality videos that provide value to the viewer there is no reason to believe that you won’t reach 1000 subscribers eventually.
Do you need 4000 hours on YouTube?
In order to get monetized on YouTube you must have at least 1000 subscribers and at least 4000 public watch hours in the last year.
How much is 4000 watch hours?
4000 watch hours is 240000 minutes. You need to get 60000 views on a 4-minute video to get 4000 watch hours on YouTube.
What does 500 subscribers on YouTube get you?
500 YouTube subscribers unlock the community tab.
The community tab allows you to post polls, and share images and updates with your YouTube audience.
What does 100 YouTube subscribers get you?
100 YouTube subscribers get you nothing in terms of money and monetization.
You need to reach 1000 subscribers and 4000 watch hours to be able to apply for YouTube’s monetization program.
What if I can reach 1000 subscribers on YouTube in 1 year?
If your channel can reach 1000 subscribers and 4000 watch hours in 1 year on YouTube then you can apply for YouTube’s monetization program.
If your channel gets accepted you will be able to start earning money from ads that play before your videos.
How long does it take to reach 1k subs on YouTube?
For an average person, it can take more than a year to reach 1000 subscribers on YouTube (it took me 10 and a half months to do it).
According to TubeBuddy, an average YouTube channel that reaches 1000 subscribers has uploaded 152 videos.
How do I grow my YouTube channel from 0?
To grow your YouTube channel from 0 you can do keyword research to rank videos on YouTube search, you can make YouTube Shorts, or upload videos that people want to watch.
The key is to make the best videos possible for your channel niche.
How to get 1m subscribers on YouTube for free?
To get to 1m subscribers you need to publish valuable content consistently for many years. According to TubeBuddy, an average YouTube channel with 1m subscribers has uploaded 3873 videos.
Wrap Up
There you have it – my guide on how to get 1000 subscribers on YouTube.
Ultimately what most people fail to do is just publish videos consistently over a long period of time. I’m talking 2 years at least.
YouTube compounds over time.
And in order for compounding to happen you need to give it time.
Only by posting content consistently and improving on it every single time will you be able to grow your channel and make insane amounts of money from YouTube.
The critical factor is you.
Your patience, consistency, and continual strive to make the best videos possible are what will make you reach a lot more than 1000 subscribers.
So pick up the camera and happy creating!
Speaking of reaching 1000 subscribers here are a few great resources to grow your YouTube channel even further:
Get a free Notion template with the tutorial for the game of YouTube
🚀 10+ Notion pages about how to play the YouTube game
⚙️ List of tools & gear for YouTubers
🧑⚖️ How to make your first video and get your channel off the ground
💰 Detailed guide about finding your niche & making money