You launched your YouTube channel with so much excitement and suddenly see your views and subscribers stagnate over a period of time. Every creator, sooner or later, asks themselves the question, “Why is my YouTube channel not growing?”. Here, in this article, we’ll walk you through the possible reasons why your YT channel is not growing.
Table of Contents
Why Is My YouTube Channel Not Growing?
Here are the top 5 common reasons that could be leading to your YouTube channel not growing.
- Your channel doesn’t have a niche
- Your Video Thumbnails are not captivating enough
- Not generating enough value
- Less Experimentation With Your Content
- Weak YouTube SEO and Superficial Research Around A Topic
Let’s take a deep dive into each of the above factors.
1. Your Channel Doesn’t Have A Particular Niche
If you observe the most successful YouTube channels, you will observe that they are built around a single focus on a particular industry category. Not having a specific niche is among the top YouTube mistakes creators make when trying to grow their channel. Having a single niche helps you build a loyal audience base because your viewers know they are going to see content about something they are interested in. Here’s what you can do if you don’t have a particular niche;
- Research online and do a self-assessment to discover a niche that has high demand and you’re passionate about
- Analyze your competitors’ video content of that niche to develop better content ideas
- Have a well-structured content calendar that includes timely research and publishing of content
2. Your Video Thumbnails Are Not Captivating Enough
Thumbnails are the first thing your viewer glances at before watching any video. Right beside the title, if the thumbnail looks cluttered or is difficult to understand, there are major chances that it will be scrolled up rather than getting clicks, resulting in your YouTube channel not growing. YouTube audience wants to skim through the thumbnails and look for a video to watch quickly. Thumbnails won’t work if it takes more than a second for the viewer to understand its contents or if the image doesn’t ignite the curiosity of the viewer. To make better, captivating thumbnails, you can;
- Keep minimal textual content for faster reading
- Keep a clutter-free design that eases the viewer’s eye
- Optimize it to catch viewers’ attention
3. Your Content Is Not Generating Enough Value
YouTube algorithm favors consistent content production. Posting low-quality content once in a while is the most repeated YouTube mistakes that YouTubers commit early in their journey. Remember that recycling information that has already been covered without adding significant value to it won’t help you grow your channel at a faster pace. It is crucial to deliver valuable information while entertaining your audience to grow your subscriber base consistently. To get more value out of your content,
- Create a proper timeline for researching, shooting, editing, and publishing your videos.
- Post at least twice a week
- Outsource if needed to create high-quality content footage
- Research well to identify the missing points and add value wherever necessary
4. Lack Of Experimentation In Your Content
Many content creators avoid experimenting with their content ideas, especially in the initial phases. They are so obsessed with increasing their views, growing their subscriber base, and rising to fame that it keeps them away from experimentation. The more you experiment, the more you get to know about your niche and the ideas that will work or won’t work. Besides, you can also come across something unique that may give you the much needed breakout to get viral on YouTube. What you can do to fix this factor that leads to your YouTube channel not growing? Here are a couple of ideas.
- Look closely at your content and competitor’s content and see what new perspective can you add to it.
- Often look for what’s trending in your niche. Think about what you can do to make it more creative and entertaining.
5. Weak YouTube SEO and Superficial Research
Considering that you make engaging content and post it regularly. Still, fail to attract the desired number of views on your videos? The problem may be a weak SEO implementation on your videos. YouTube SEO isn’t always fun, but it is extremely crucial to rank your videos higher and attract more views from your target audience. YouTube is also often known as the world’s second-largest search engine. Optimizing your videos for SEO helps your content to get discovered and appear in front of your target audience when they search for it. Also, a lack of in-depth research about your content could also be one of the prime reasons for your YouTube channel not growing.
Here’s what you should do to fix it.
- Optimize your videos for SEO using YouTube SEO tools
- Research and brainstorm about how you can improve upon your competitors’ content.
- Constantly keep an eye on your competitor’s channel and see what they are uploading to improve and enhance your content quality.
Conclusion
Still wondering why is my YouTube channel is not growing? Analyze your channel and see if you are committing any of the above top 5 YouTube mistakes that are stopping your channel from growing. Many of the mistakes are easy to rectify, but make sure that you never end up producing content that violates YouTube’s policies and terms. It may lead to demonetization of your channel and even permanent suspension. Consistently make the necessary changes and course corrections in your YouTube journey, and soon, you will see your channel hitting its monetization goals.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. What to do if my YouTube channel is not growing?
You can execute the following steps if your YouTube channel is not growing;
- Choose a specific niche for your channel
- Research well about your competitors
- Follow a consistent calendar plan for publishing high-quality content
- Experiment often initially
- Implement stringent YouTube SEO
Q2. Why do I need a niche on YouTube?
Having a niche makes you be perceived as a domain authority on YouTube. It indicates the algorithm that your content is valuable and serves the needs of a particular audience very well. Therefore, the platform ranks your videos on top when viewers search for solutions to their problems pertaining to their category.
Q3. How to grow the subscriber base on my YouTube channel?
Keep producing engaging and high-quality content that adds value to your audience’s life. Your target audience prefers to write more of what they already like to see. So, creating content around those topics will help you engage more with them and compel viewers to turn into subscribers.
Q4. Do I need high-quality equipment to shoot my YouTube videos?
No. It is absolutely not necessary to go out and buy expensive equipment to shoot your YouTube videos initially. We recommend sharpening your skills in areas like keyword research, creating better content, crafting captivating thumbnails, and refining YouTube SEO. You can cover a lot with natural light and a smartphone.