YouTube Play Button: Everything You Need To Know (2024)

If you have a favorite YouTuber, you likely know what a YouTube Play Button is already. But what is the history behind the Play Button? What types of buttons exist? How can you get a Play Button of your own?

We’re going to answer all of these questions – and more – to help you better understand what these buttons mean and how you can work on getting one yourself.

What is the YouTube Play Button?

The YouTube Play Button is the plaque that many creators have in the backgrounds of their videos. You’ve almost certainly seen someone with the Silver button on the wall behind them in their videos, which signifies that they hit 100,000 subscribers.

Each button is an award of recognition for a specific subscriber milestone.

YouTube says it best: “Creators pour their heart and soul into their videos.” And in an effort to celebrate creators, the platform offers these neat buttons that everyone raves about and strives to receive as a creator.

But when did creator awards first start?

On June 28, 2012, the first Creator Award was introduced at VidCon 2012, but the first plaque was actually the Gold one. Silver wasn’t introduced until a year later and Diamond was introduced in 2015.

What Types of YouTube Play Buttons Can I Earn?

Play Buttons often contain rare metals, but the composition of the buttons has changed over the years. For example, the silver version of the button contained 2.5% zinc, 5% carbon and 92% nickel in 2017.

Gold isn’t made from 100% gold – unfortunately – but it’s made of gold-plated brass.

And with all of this in mind, let’s look at the many types of Play Buttons and how you can begin earning them as a creator.

1. Silver Play Button

Silver is the first tier of Play Buttons, and you can earn this button by reaching 100,000 subscribers.

2. Gold Play Button

Gold is the second tier button, and you’ll need to hit 1 million subs to receive this button.

3. Diamond Play Button

Diamond is the third button you can receive, and you’ll be in the company of just 995 channels that have hit 10 million subscribers. The composition of this button is silver-plating with a crystal, but it’s not made out of diamond.

4. Custom Play Button

At its discretion, YouTube can grant someone the Custom button, which is for channels with 50 million subscribers. What’s really awesome about the custom award is that the color can vary.

For example, PewDiePie was granted a ruby-colored award that looked like his logo.

Blackpink’s award had a pink base with a black award on top of it, so it’s a truly unique plaque. As you may have guessed, very few creators have a custom button.

5. Red Diamond Play Button

Channels that have 100 million subscribers will receive this play button, and it features a dark red crystal. Some of the channels that have received this award are:

How to Claim Your Play Button?

If you want to claim your button, you must meet all eligibility requirements before requesting one. You can see if you’re eligible by going to YouTube’s official “get my award” page. YouTube will review your channel and, if it’s approved, you’ll receive a notification in Creator Studio.

You’ll then need to redeem your button, which will require your shipping information and channel name.

The award will be created and shipped within 2 – 4 weeks.

6 Tips to Get a YouTube Play Button💡

Do you want to work towards getting your very own YouTube Play Button? It’s a reward to be proud of receiving, but it takes immense dedication and a plan to succeed. If you want to reach this exclusive club of creators, know that it won’t happen overnight.

Here are some tips to help guide you on your journey.👇

1. Focus on Creating Awesome Content

Your videos are the lifeblood of your channel. Are they engaging people, or are they turning them away?

Successful YouTubers are always trying to push the bar higher and create new, unique and innovative content.

No matter your niche, your goal should be to create awesome content that your audience truly wants to see. Along with the topic itself, you’ll also want to focus on:

Engaging content is the key to growing a YouTube channel, attracting new viewers and retaining viewers.

2. Stay Active

How often do you post on YouTube? If you answered once a month or even less often than that, you may need to rethink your strategy.

If you hope to grow your channel, boost your views and increase your subscribers, you need to be actively posting new content regularly.

How regularly? That depends on your niche and audience. But generally, you want to post at least once a month. Once a week or every two weeks is better.

Here are some actionable steps you can take to be more active on YouTube:

Staying active and consistent is just as important as creating awesome content if you want to grow your channel and snag a YouTube Play Button.

3. Collaborate with Other Creators 🤝

Collaborations are a great way to expand your channel’s reach and attract new subscribers. Connect with other creators who may be interested in working together.

Ideally, you want to work with someone who:

As a general rule, we recommend making connections with people in your niche as early on as possible. When you build and nurture these connections from the get-go, collaborations happen naturally.

But if you’re not in this position, it’s never too late to start building relationships and pitching other creators.

When pitching creators, focus on how your collaboration would benefit them and their audience. What value do you bring to the table? How will their viewers benefit from your expertise, stories, strategies – whatever you want to share?

Once you land one collaboration, you’ll find it much easier to accumulate more and continue growing your connections and audience.

4. Promote, Promote, Promote 📢

Creating awesome content is just one aspect of building a successful channel that’s worthy of a Play Button. You need to promote your channel and content if you want your audience to grow.

Make sure that you’re:

SEO and social media can go a long way in helping your channel grow. Focus on creating compelling titles and thumbnails to boost your rankings and click-through rate.

If you have the budget, you can also use ads, including YouTube Ads, to promote your channel and content across the web.

5. Know Your People

How well do you know your audience, really? What questions do they want answered? What kind of content do they love?

Knowing your niche and your audience will help you create better content and connect with your viewers on a deeper level.

Your YouTube Studio dashboard can be a goldmine of information about your viewers. Under the Audience tab, you’ll find information on your audience’s:

But more importantly, you’ll also find out:

These two areas of the Audience tab can help you understand what types of content your audience likes and potential topics that may interest them. Leverage this data to create a more effective content strategy for your channel.

If you haven’t chosen a niche and are just starting your channel, consider your own passions and areas of expertise. What do you want to create content about? What kind of content would you want to see if you were a viewer of your channel?

Creating content for your audience will help you grow your channel more quickly and get one step closer to earning a YouTube Play Button award.

6. Adhere to YouTube’s Community Guidelines

To be eligible for a YouTube Play Button, your content has to be original – meaning no copyright violations. Your channel and all of its content must adhere to YouTube’s community guidelines if you want your own Play Button.

The coveted YouTube Play Button award can be yours if you follow the tips above, continue to create great content and play by the rules. Just remember that building a successful channel takes time, patience, persistence and passion. Don’t lose sight of your goals and stay focused on producing unforgettable content for your audience.