Gaining Exposure: Cost-Effective Promotion Hacks for YouTubers

How to Promote YouTube Videos (Without Paying)

Ollie Mattison

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Getting a unique idea for your YouTube video is great and implementing it is even greater. But what about promoting after creating the video? This is the biggest concern for many YouTubers especially those who are freshly entering the YouTube world. To work on marketing strategy is way too important than uploading video which many people don’t think of.

Since YouTube stands as one of the well-known video-sharing website and nearly 300 hours (estimated) of videos are uploaded every single minute, how would you make your video a storm of hype thereby reaching the essential target audience? Among the chain of YouTube channels, popularizing yours to let people know you; you need some smart tips to be a pro on this matter. And this is what today’s article stressed upon. Have a look and learn how to promote YouTube videos without paying to drive incredible traffic.

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Part 1: How to Promote YouTube Videos Free

1. Come up compelling titles

To promote YouTube video the right way, focus firstly on the title of your video . As this is what viewers will notice first and your notable title will only encourage users to play the video further, try to keep it simple and on-point. Avoid providing long titles as Google automatically shortens it up to 66 characters on search results. Moreover, a great YouTube video promotion is nothing without keyword research. Make sure to go ahead for it to keep the video on top in search results.

2. Pay attention to description and Tags

While thinking how to promote YouTube videos, it is important to pay heed on the video description and tags . The motive of YouTube description is to expand on the main title and putting more detailed information to it. You need to make sure to keep the description long and incorporate the maximum keywords possible (don’t be stuffy) while writing the description. Besides, when you add a web address in the description, ensure to begin it with “http” to make it clickable. Viewers will then easily be redirected to it on clicking. A yet another tip to promote YouTube video is to add tags that can describe the video purpose.

3. Make high quality content

High-quality content is the key to have great and exceptional results out of your video. Make sure to keep the video highly informational and once you’re ready with the content, work on the YouTube SEO . Start looking for the relevant keywords and put these in the title, description, tags and wherever needed.

4. Connect with YouTube community

Connecting with the viewers and YouTube community is the next step for promoting YouTube videos without paying. You create video, upload it and now people like it and make time for commenting on it. How would your audience feel if you won’t respond them back? They will obviously feel ignored. Therefore, try to be actively involved with the audience by replying to their comments as this will keep your audience intact.

Furthermore, make time to find the similar niche community and get engage with them. Watch their videos and activities and drop comments on their videos. Also, try to share useful video links through comments section.

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Why don’t give your best shot on contest strategy to fascinate more audience? Well! This is an extremely interesting technique to engage the audience. You should try to motivate viewers to subscribe your channel and provide with giveaways and prizes in return. They will willingly go for it and spread the contest thing to their friends as well. After all, everyone on this planet cherishes free stuff. Hence, use this promotion strategy and run contest thereby cheering your audience to step ahead. Remember to follow YouTube’s contest rules .

6. Cross-promoting your video

Do you know that over 500 years of YouTube videos are successfully watched on Facebook on regular basis? Also, Twitter users are involved in sharing over 700 YouTube videos every minute, according to YouTube. Therefore, using the other social platforms and marketing your YouTube channel there stand a great chance for your success. Cross-promoting YouTube video are likely to get viral quickly with top ways to promote YouTube videos .

7. Thumbnails is a must

Thumbnail is equally important as the title and content of the video. And to promote YouTube Video and make it success-deserving, thumbnail plays as an important aspect. There is no rule to create thumbnail. If you like, you can customize thumbnail with Filmora. You should be creative and think out of the box to make it more appealing. Play with image, layouts, designs and add understandable text on your video thumbnail.

8. Add Calls To Action

Do work on CTAs if you want your video to be YouTube video promoted in a better way. While people watch your video, remin-d them or ask them to like the video and subscribe to your channel. In addition, tell them to share the video as maximum as possible to help others too. Popular YouTubers have embraced this Call-to-action approach and they experience increasing number of shares by just asking the existing subscribers for it.

Part 2: Bonus Tip: How to Promote YouTube Videos with Some Money

Don’t forget email marketing

Use video on email marketing is never an outdated idea and here you can use it too in order to promote YouTube videos. To get to the loyal audience through this strategy, you can follow multiple ways:

• Have an email subscriber list already? Then make use of it and spread the news about your creative YouTube channel to the people in the list. You can do this every time you publish a fresh video.
• Also, make sure to keep the intro and outro of the playlist appealing rather than working on each video and adding CTA. By palying with intro/outro, make your viewers acquaint with your email list and tell them to subscribe.
• Above all, it is always suggested whenever you think about promoting your YouTubr video to always add a CTA. Here, when you use email as marketing platform, ask your audience to subscribe to your email list in the last.

Advertise

One of the golden tips – “Advertise and make your views rise” that can be of great assistance. Also, make sure of the following tips if you are thinking about advertising of your video and channel.

• Firstly, you should know that the duration of the ad matters. Keep the advertisement small, 30 to 60 seconds to be precise.
• Secondly and importantly, don’t forget to provide clear call-to-action. Let your viewers know what to do next. You can add subscribe the channel or sign up for email or simply share the video etc. as effective CTAs.
• The third tip says you to take help of TrueView ad format. TrueView In-display ads are evident in watch pages of YouTube where the viewers have their recommended videos and other suggested videos (on the right side). These ads go with the “cost-per-view” concept i.e. when users opt to watch your video by clicking on it, you will be charged. Overall, TrueView stands as great way to get your video marketed.

Conclusion

We enlightened you how to promote YouTube videos without paying and even shared some tips on promotion through money. Now that you’ve got a fair idea, work on the aforementioned methods and make your video known worldwide. Make use of the strategies and we hope you will surely make a remarkable name of yours. Hope you liked the tips we shared and started promoting YouTube videos.

Ollie Mattison

Ollie Mattison is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Ollie Mattison

Overcoming the Challenge of Hidden YouTube Shorts Thumbnails

Video thumbnails are important since they encourage people to click and watch the video. But what if your set YouTube Shorts thumbnail is not showing? YouTube will use a random part of the video as the thumbnail. It may be an unflattering or uninteresting shot. Then, your Shorts video is doomed.

That said, it is a problem you want to solve. Here are 7 FAQs about YouTube Shorts thumbnails. They may help you with fixing this issue.

Q1. Can I Customize YouTube Shorts Thumbnails?

Yes, you can. YouTube did allow short-form video creators to upload custom thumbnails for their Shorts. However, they aren’t that optimized. For instance, some people may not see them on the Shorts shelf. Also, if you share a link to the video somewhere else, the old video thumbnail may show instead of the new one.

Adding a custom thumbnail for YouTube Shorts is the same as adding one for long-form videos on the platform. Follow these steps:

• Open the YouTube mobile app. Click the “Plus” icon at the bottom center > “Create Short.” Upload, edit, and post your video.

• Get to your desktop computer or laptop. Open your channel’s YouTube Studio.

• On the left navigation menu, click “Content.”

• Click the “pencil” icon next to the Shorts you just uploaded. This video should be at the top of the list.
• Navigate to the Thumbnail section. Click “Create Thumbnail.”

Q2. Why Are YouTube Shorts Thumbnails Not Showing?

It’s not you who’s the only one with Shorts thumbnails not showing. Many short-form content creators on the platform are also facing this issue. A YouTuber took to Reddit to complain about how he uploaded custom thumbnails for all his videos. The thumbnails are correct in the editor. However, YouTube still displays a random frame as the thumbnail on the Shorts shelf.

“They ALL have randomly selected different parts of each video I have uploaded & somehow generated a new/unknown thumbnail that was neither what I uploaded as the custom option nor 1 of the 3 that YouTube auto populated.”

YouTuber on Reddit

The reason behind this is the difference in the thumbnail size. Regular YouTube video thumbnails are in the ratio of 16:9. Meanwhile, Shorts uses a ratio of 9:16. The thing is that YouTube does not yet allow you to upload 9:16 thumbnails. Thus, the thumbnail for Shorts may show correctly on the video section but not on the Shorts shelf.

Q3. How to Fix YouTube Shorts Thumbnail Problem?

Unfortunately, there is no reliable fix to this problem yet. YouTubers have tried different things in hopes that YouTube will display the correct thumbnail for their Shorts.

Some YouTubers have tried using different images. Others have experimented with changing the aspect ratio of the thumbnail or using Adobe editor for ratios. Clearing histories and cache, using different browsers, resizing, and changing the images’ resolution have also been done. Sadly, these are all failed attempts.

Q4. How To Boost Views When I Have no Control Over YouTube Shorts Thumbnails?

Attracting viewers on Shorts is the same as attracting viewers on the main YouTube. You use interesting thumbnails and video titles. Since thumbnails are out of the options, selecting great video titles has become even more important.

Here are some pointers. Your title should be at most 40 characters. Also, it should be concise and irresistible. And forget about SEO since no one is searching for YouTube Shorts anyway. People consume what they see in their feeds. So instead, the title should be “snappy.” It should intrigue, entertain, or enlighten the viewers. That will net you some views for your Shorts content.

Q5. How To Get More Views on YouTube Shorts?

Forgoing the intro is the way to go. An intro will just prolong the video when people are in Shorts to find bite-sized videos. So jump right into the video content. You can also start the video with a still frame instead. Using hashtags, captions, and text effects are also recommended. And interacting with your audience through comments and pinned comments will keep them coming back to your Shorts channel.

Of course, ensuring that the video quality is high is key to getting more views. For that, you need a good video editor. You can try Wondershare Filmora , a powerful and easy-to-use video editor.

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The best thing is that you don’t need to transfer the video from your phone to your computer and back. Wondershare Filmora is available on mobile. And it’s one of the best tools for enhancing a short-form video.

Short-form video watchers love filters, transitions, and effects. And Filmora gives you access to all of that. It provides you with fun and amazing filters, effects, transitions, and stamps that can add a wow factor to your short-form video.

Q6. Do YouTube Shorts Make Money?

Making money from YouTube Shorts was challenging. The platform pays content creators who are doing well through the Creator Fund. However, as Shorts grew, the payout became smaller.

Luckily, that’s going to change. Starting this year, Shorts will be a part of the YouTube Partner Program. This means that you can make money from the ads that people watch on Shorts. According to YouTube, creators will keep 45% of the revenue. It will be distributed based on your share of total Shorts views.

YouTube also adjusted the requirements to qualify for the YPP. They made it easier for Shorts content creators to get into the program.

Q7. How Do You Make YouTube Shorts Play Normal?

You can watch Shorts like normal YouTube videos where you can rewind when you want to. Follow these steps.

On a Desktop Computer

• Open a Shorts video on YouTube.

• Pause the video.

• Click “Library” on the left panel.

• Select the Shorts you just watched. It should be on the top and first on the list.

On a Mobile Phone

• Open the YouTube app. Watch a Shorts video.

• Like the Shorts video.

• Tap “Library”

• Scroll down to find “Liked Videos.” Click on it.

• Select the Shorts video you just watched. It should be at the top of the list.

Conclusion

Unfortunately, custom thumbnails not showing on Shorts does not have a fix yet. So to attract viewers, you must leverage the things in your control. You must title your videos in a way that will make users click the video. Also, adding effects and filters on the video using an editor like Wondershare Filmora can help.

Users can subscribe to Shorts channels. And if they see that your videos are well-edited and high-quality, they’ll be more likely to do so. Once they are subscribed, they will see and watch your videos more often.

Free Download For macOS 10.14 or later

The best thing is that you don’t need to transfer the video from your phone to your computer and back. Wondershare Filmora is available on mobile. And it’s one of the best tools for enhancing a short-form video.

Short-form video watchers love filters, transitions, and effects. And Filmora gives you access to all of that. It provides you with fun and amazing filters, effects, transitions, and stamps that can add a wow factor to your short-form video.

Q6. Do YouTube Shorts Make Money?

Making money from YouTube Shorts was challenging. The platform pays content creators who are doing well through the Creator Fund. However, as Shorts grew, the payout became smaller.

Luckily, that’s going to change. Starting this year, Shorts will be a part of the YouTube Partner Program. This means that you can make money from the ads that people watch on Shorts. According to YouTube, creators will keep 45% of the revenue. It will be distributed based on your share of total Shorts views.

YouTube also adjusted the requirements to qualify for the YPP. They made it easier for Shorts content creators to get into the program.

Q7. How Do You Make YouTube Shorts Play Normal?

You can watch Shorts like normal YouTube videos where you can rewind when you want to. Follow these steps.

On a Desktop Computer

• Open a Shorts video on YouTube.

• Pause the video.

• Click “Library” on the left panel.

• Select the Shorts you just watched. It should be on the top and first on the list.

On a Mobile Phone

• Open the YouTube app. Watch a Shorts video.

• Like the Shorts video.

• Tap “Library”

• Scroll down to find “Liked Videos.” Click on it.

• Select the Shorts video you just watched. It should be at the top of the list.

Conclusion

Unfortunately, custom thumbnails not showing on Shorts does not have a fix yet. So to attract viewers, you must leverage the things in your control. You must title your videos in a way that will make users click the video. Also, adding effects and filters on the video using an editor like Wondershare Filmora can help.

Users can subscribe to Shorts channels. And if they see that your videos are well-edited and high-quality, they’ll be more likely to do so. Once they are subscribed, they will see and watch your videos more often.