What YouTube Channels with Over 1,000 Subscribers Have In Common (ep 087)

Start Creating Podcast with Alan Spicer

In this episode of TubeTalk, we chat with Alan Spicer, YouTube consultant and blogger, about gaining 1,000 subscribers and beyond. His YouTube growth channel, Alan Spicer, has 34,000 subscribers. He also has thousands of subscribers on other YouTube channels, and books clients on his website, alanspicer.com

Alan has reviewed lots of channels and has noticed a pattern with successful creators. Typically, channels with over 1,000 subscribers have three things in common.

1. The Content Is Hyperfocused and Entertaining

There are two ways to start a successful YouTube channel. The first option is making focused content that caters to one audience. But if you don’t know what your niche should be, you can explore different topics to see what gets more views. Be warned, though: The results for this option are unpredictable. You’re letting the numbers decide what your niche should be, even if you aren’t passionate about the topic. That’s why we recommend option one – finding a topic you love and sticking to it.

Is your YouTube niche worth pursuing? Ask yourself three questions to find out:

Can I talk about this topic for hours?

Am I passionate about it?

Are video ideas coming to me effortlessly?

If your answer to all three questions is “yes,” you have a niche worth exploring. Whether that’s cooking, baseball highlights, makeup, or something else, embrace your newfound topic!

Narrowing your focus is the fastest way to get 1,000 subscribers on YouTube. The deeper you dive into a subject, the better your chances of attracting like-minded viewers. If you’re a Minecraft creator, for example, viewers will subscribe to watch hundreds of gaming tutorials.

Making how-to content is a sure-fire way to stand out on YouTube. But don’t forget to be informative and entertaining. Spicer sees this formula all the time as a YouTube consultant – and it works.

“You can still be educational and funny,” Spicer says. “[A fencing company] was making content about ‘how to’ this and ‘how to’ that, which was great. But then they made a video that was all about a specific building material…. It’s a nice time-lapse thing, and it’s entertaining. But it still was within their focus of them telling us how to put up that fence and the specific materials you need to use.”

Of course, the video went viral. The fencing company got views from their audience and people who enjoyed the time-lapse video.

2. The Creator Is an Expert – or Passionate About Becoming One

Did you know it takes some creators years to reach 1,000 YouTube subscribers? During that time, they post dozens of videos, if not hundreds.

That’s why passion is invaluable on YouTube. If you aren’t excited about your niche, it’s hard to keep going with little to no views and subscribers. Chances are, you will lose motivation.