How To Get 1 Million YouTube Subscribers (2024)

Hitting 1 million subscribers on YouTube is an awesome accomplishment. You’ll even be rewarded with a gold “play button” plaque that’s sent to you from YouTube. But for new creators, it’s hard to imagine even hitting:

It’s defeating when you create content, edit it and think, “everyone is going to love this.” If you don’t have subscribers, your video may never get the traction it truly requires to help you get more subscribers.

So, what can you do?

You’ll need to continue creating videos that you’re sure people will love, but what if there were a few strategies that could help you reach your success faster with less risk of failing?

We’re going to outline an extensive plan that you can follow to help you get 1 million subscribers on YouTube.

You can even use this strategy to hit two, three, four and even 10 million followers if you’re dedicated enough.

How to Get 1 Million Subscribers on YouTube? (15 Strategies)

Creators can only ignore the recommendations that we’re going to share for so long before they realize that YouTube requires you to take content creation seriously to hit 1 million subs.

1. Buy Subscribers to Get the Ball Rolling

If you find a YouTube channel and it has 10 subscribers, you’re less likely to subscribe. Why? Other people haven’t subscribed, so you don’t see social proof and are less likely to sub, too.

And while unfair, this holds a lot of channels back in the beginning.

What can you do?

Skip the wait and buy one of our YouTube subscriber packages. We offer packages of 100 – 1000 subscribers, starting at $10.99 for just 100.

2. Master the Hook

If you don’t have a hook, it’s game over for your video. If you’re a new creator who doesn’t know what a “hook” is, don’t worry – no one starts and knows everything.

What is a Hook?

Hooks are used in books, television series and YouTube videos – among many others. You come across hooks all the time, and they’re usually a strong statement or segment that is so enticing that it leads you to keep watching or reading.

A hook starts off a video and:

If you have a strong hook, more people will watch your videos and end up becoming subscribers.

You need to dedicate a lot of time to your hook. Test out your hook. Ask friends what they think of it. And keep experimenting until you have a firm understanding of the hooks that your audience prefers.

What Can a Hook Include?

Major creators often have a hook that they seem to reuse across their videos because they work. Your hook can be anything, but consider the following:

Naturally, there are a lot of other types of hooks that you can add to your video. Your goal for a hook is to set your video up and keep people watching. During your video, you’ll need to use transitions to keep people’s interest and persuade them to watch until the end.

3. Ask Viewers to Subscribe

Many viewers will subscribe to your channel if they like your content, but others will forget to subscribe if you don’t ask them directly. You’ll find that even the world’s leading creators still ask people to “like and subscribe to this channel.”

And you can ask for viewers to subscribe using a variety of tactics that work time and time again:

But there’s one other tactic that works so well that creators across the world use it: ask people to subscribe in the middle of the video. You don’t want to ask for a sub too early, so hook them in for a few minutes first before coming on screen and making your ask.

4. Hit the 10-Minute Mark

You’ve likely heard that if you extend videos to 10 minutes, it’s a great way to increase your earnings. Why? You’ll gain access to better ads and placement options that earn you a lot more money from your views.

And you can also use these earnings to reinvest in your channel, which is always a good thing. 

We’ve found that videos in the 5- to 15-minute range receive the most engagement on YouTube.

A ten-minute long video is more challenging to make than a 2-minute one, but it will also:

We can’t tell you how to create longer videos in your niche, but it’s worth writing a script or outlining the topics that you want to cover.

5. Ask People to Comment – and Respond

You’ve spent time creating content, so why not ask your viewers to comment on it? Viewers will have an opinion on your videos, and many want to forge deeper relationships with you.

When you start taking content creation seriously, you’ll realize that your subscribers are a tribe.

Many of these subscribers will recommend your channel to their friends and family, too. If you want to speed up this process to get 1 million subscribers, one thing that you can begin doing right now is:

Yes, this is a lot of work, and you can’t just automate replies or copy and paste your responses. But it’s worth the effort.

Why would you reply to comments?

Many of the people leaving comments watched your video, but they didn’t subscribe for some reason. Your reply can turn these non-subscribers into subs. If you value the opinion of your viewers and take time out of your day to reply back to them, you’ll see your subscriber count begin to tick up faster and faster.

6. Post More Shorts

Shorts are something we blog about a lot. You can even use your longer videos to create a ton of Shorts fast and begin posting them. But we’ve found that you need to be careful with this form of content because you can attract a lot of subscribers who won’t watch your long-form content.

We always recommend that you use Shorts as a way to get people to watch your long-form videos.

Shorts won’t make you much money – they pay peanuts – but you will get a lot of subscribers from them. Add in a handful of Shorts per month to see how they perform for you.

If you’re using Shorts to bring people to your 10-minute videos, you already have a lot of content that you can repurpose to make them.

7. Optimize Your Videos with Keywords

Search engine optimization works on YouTube videos, too. And since the platform is owned by Google’s parent company, it makes a lot of sense that you can optimize your videos to get more traffic.

You can implement numerous strategies armed with this information:

Keywords give you direction on what your audience wants to see and the content that you can create. But be forewarned that if you stuff keywords into your titles and descriptions, it’s a recipe for disaster.

Use keywords naturally and you’ll begin attracting new viewers.

8. Go Hard on Promotion for the First 24 Hours

Fast promotions are common amongst the platform’s largest creators. You may notice that teams, like the group behind Yes Theory, promote every video intensely when it’s first posted.

It’s a media blitz of sorts.

You’ll see the team posting about their new video across social media and on their own personal profiles, too.

Why?

It gives YouTube’s algorithm the instant signals that it needs to:

If YouTube thinks that a video is going viral, the algorithm will keep promoting it until interest dies down. Your hard promotion during the first 24 hours can mean the difference between a ton of new views and subscribers or the video falling flat.

And if you do have an email list or website, don’t be afraid to promote the video through these channels, too.

9. Add Transcriptions to Your Videos

Transcriptions add an extra step to video creation, but they’re 100% worth it. Why? Because they will make your videos more accessible to more viewers.

Viewers who are hearing impaired may skip your videos and channel if you don’t have transcriptions. Some viewers don’t have the time or desire to watch your content but want to get answers to their questions. Transcriptions can help them get what they need.

A transcription is a word-for-word translation of your video’s audio into text. You can upload them along with your video to make your content more user-friendly.

10. Elevate Your Video Editing Game

Like it or not, image is everything on YouTube. If you want to be a channel worthy of 1 million subscribers, you need to create professional-level content that wows people. 

The YouTube channel Yes Theory is a great example of how professional-quality content can be a game-changer. The channel has more than 8 million subscribers. There are lots of reasons why they have such a huge subscriber base – excellent storytelling is one of them – but their videos also look amazing.

They’ve invested in professional gear, and they’ve learned how to elevate their video editing game. In fact, they have their own editing team.

If you want to hit 1 million subscribers, you need to take your content quality seriously. And that means investing in new gear and learning how to edit your videos to keep viewers engaged.

11. Create More and Post More

There’s one thing most YouTubers can agree on: no one will see your first 100 videos. If that’s true, this means that you’ll need to up your content creation game – by a lot.

To hit the 1-million-subscriber mark, focus on creating more videos and posting more often. Easier said than done, right? Although this is one of the most challenging strategies for growing your subscribers, it’s also one of the most effective.

But posting more often gives people a reason to subscribe to your channel. If you post once a week, viewers will know they can tune into your channel every week to see something new.

If you post every month or less often, you’ll lose people’s interest, and they won’t bother subscribing.

How often should you post?

As a general rule of thumb, you should aim to post once a week.

Keep in mind that this is just a general rule. The right posting consistency really depends on your niche and audience.

Spy on your competitors to see how often they’re posting. If they’re pushing new videos every week, then aim for once a week. If they’re posting three times a week, you’ll really need to up your game and match them.

Here’s what we recommend:

If you have friends or family who support your channel, ask them to hold you accountable to your schedule. They can help you stay on track and ensure you stick to your plan.

12. Make Your Channel Evergreen

One effective way to get more subscribers consistently over weeks, months and years is to make evergreen content.

Evergreen content is content that will always be relevant and interesting to people. Let’s say that you make a video on how to chop wood with an ax. That same video will still be relevant and helpful to people 5, 10 or 15 years from now.

Here are some examples of evergreen content:

Lots of YouTubers are still getting subscribers and making money from tutorials and review videos they made years ago. That’s the power of evergreen content.

These types of videos will continue to attract new subscribers in the future without you even having to lift a finger.

13. Engage with Your Audience

The best way to build a solid subscriber base is to treat your audience like a community. Engage with your followers. Reply to their comments and get to know them. When you record your videos, speak to them directly.

Even when people leave negative comments, reply. Address their concerns. People will see that you care about everyone who engages with your channel – even the haters.

You can also engage with your audience by:

If you can build a deep, genuine relationship with your audience, you’ll find it easy to get new subscribers.

Think about some of the most popular YouTubers. Most of them have taken the time to build a community online and offline. Their audience is loyal and continues to grow because they value and appreciate every person who watches their videos.

14. Run Contests That Get People Talking

Contests are a great way to get more subscribers – as long as you:

The right contest can easily go viral and send subscribers flocking to your channel. But you need to make it worth their while to enter. 

Choose a prize that is:

You can offer physical prizes, but make sure it’s something that’s easy to deliver and an item people really want.

Don’t make it too hard to enter. It’s common for YouTube contests to have the following rules for entry:

All of these rules help spread the word about your contest and your channel. They encourage engagement and will naturally boost your subscriber count.

Just make sure your rules are clear and you actually choose a winner.

15. Don’t Give Up: Growth Takes a Long Time

We’ve all heard stories of people who became overnight sensations on YouTube. But these people are exceedingly rare. The hard truth is that it takes time – lots of it – to hit 1 million subscribers. 

Some creators have confessed that it took 3+ years to hit this milestone. That’s years of consistent content creation and posting.

If you don’t see results in a few months or even a year or more, don’t get discouraged. Keep going. Keep learning about your audience and changing your content as trends change.

Consistency is the key to success. Eventually, you’ll hit your goal, and it will all be worth it to be among some of the most successful channels in the world.

How Many YouTubers Have 1 Million Subscribers?

YouTube hasn’t shared any official data on this, but experts estimate that only 25,000-40,000 channels have 1 million subscribers.

To put that into perspective, there are tens of millions of YouTube channels out there. Hitting 1 million subscribers is a HUGE feat.

How Much Money Do You Make With 1 Million Subscribers?

How much you earn from 1 million subscribers depends on your niche, how many views you get and your average watch time. But on average, you can expect to make at least $100K per year from your channel if you have 1 million subs.

Do Subscribers Matter?

Yes, subscribers matter. The more subscribers you have, the easier it will be to get monetized, secure brand deals and make money with affiliate marketing.

Subscribers give you clout and prove that your content is worth watching. Would you rather watch a video from a channel with 1 million subscribers or one with 20?

Do You Need Subscribers to Make Money on YouTube?

Yes and no. It’s rare for YouTubers to make money without any subscribers. If you want to monetize your channel with ads, you’ll need at least 1,000 subscribers.

But even with zero subs, you could make money on YouTube through brand deals. Brands care most about views, engagement and watch time. Subscribers are just a bonus – a nice one at that.