YouTube is a bustling place with millions of content creators from every corner of the world — and it would be a shame if you don’t take advantage of it by collaborating with some of them.
Instead of competing against every content creator out there, you need to focus on establishing valuable relationships with some of the most popular creators within your niche, and that definitely includes fellow YouTubers.
If there’s anything you can learn from the recent Adpocalypse on YouTube, it’s that you need to have a loyal viewership to sustain your channel. With the various and unpredictable changes in YouTube’s algorithm, a dedicated audience is one thing you can count on.
If your videos aren’t getting a lot of views, companies won’t be spending their ad dollars for a spot on your video.
Working with other YouTubers helps you understand their fanbase, and the tips and tricks they use to sustain their viewership. Having a deeper understanding of what motivates a variety of viewers to click the subscribe button can help you gain even more followers later on — and that’s something you can’t get by working alone.
Why Collaborate?
The prospect of gaining new followers is what motivates many content creators to collaborate with one another.
Working with another YouTuber is a great way to introduce your channel to a whole new fanbase. If you choose your collaborator well, you’re targeting viewers who should already be interested in the types of videos you make.
What’s more, collaborating with other YouTubers is a great way to push yourself to be more creative by giving you fresh content ideas.
But collaborating with other YouTubers does more than just grow your following and get your creative juices flowing. Collaborations help you establish a meaningful connection with valuable people within your niche, and this ability to network can be very valuable.
On top of gaining new viewers, collaborations introduce you to people within the industry that can help you later on, people who can be your mentors, industry partners, and more. Collaborations open a world of possibilities you might not have a chance to find if you steer clear of working with other ‘Tubers.
Launching A Successful YouTube Collaboration
To a new YouTuber, the idea of collaborating with others can be daunting. It’s natural for you to be a bit hesitant at first but once you get started, you’ll see that the process moves along a lot easier than you initially thought.
Breaking down the process into several actionable steps will make collaborating sound much more doable in your head. Below is a list of steps that will help you get started working with other YouTubers.
1. Finding The Right People To Collaborate With
There are millions of YouTubers out there so finding the right person to collaborate with shouldn’t be that hard — as long as you manage to cut through the noise and find the right people.
Google has a dedicated community for potential YouTube partners. Breeze through the different posts and profiles to see which among the members of the community fits what you’re looking for in a collaborator.
You can also join different online forums such as YTTalk and TheYouTubeCommunity to find your next collaborator. Online forums like these are robust communities with active members so finding somebody to work with should be easy.
At this point, what you should do is create a list of potential collaborators with their contact details so you can go through them one by one once you’re ready to reach out.
2. Reaching Out
Once you’re happy with your list of potential collaborators, you can begin reaching out to them one by one.
The best way to reach out to a potential collaborator is through email and/or social media. A YouTuber that’s keen on collaborating with others — be it brands or fellow content creators — should have their business email listed on their channel along with their social media handles.
Send a detailed proposal to the contact emails you find. Make sure to include a bit of information about your channel, the types of videos you produce, and what this collaboration can do for both of you.
If you can’t find a contact email in their YouTube profile, try getting in touch with them through their other social media accounts.
3. Creating Collab Videos
After sending a bunch of proposals to a bunch of YouTubers, you’re bound to receive a few responses.
Once someone agrees to collaborate with you, you can begin working on video ideas. You can take inspiration from YouTube (where else?) to get your creative juices flowing.
These days, you don’t have to be in the same room with your collaborator to create a collab video. Nikki Glamour is a well-known Story Time YouTuber who collaborates with other YouTubers in the lifestyle and beauty niche regularly.
They usually follow a format wherein they create similar videos about similar events that happened in their lives, and direct their viewers to check out each other’s videos. Nikki tells her story in one video, while her collaborator Trinity Jae tells it from her perspective in her video.
Of course, perhaps the best way to collaborate with another YouTuber is by appearing on each other’s videos.
Miranda Sings and Shane Dawson, both comedy and lifestyle content creators, gave their subscribers something to be excited about by being in each other’s videos.
Shane and Miranda’s “Trying Mexican Candies” video received over eight million views since being uploaded in 2015 — which just goes to show how much traction a collab video can provide.
Give yourself a better chance at attracting more viewers by purchasing a few thousand high-quality YouTube Views from a reputable provider. Bought views will make your videos look more attractive, helping you gain more organic views by making your videos seem popular in the eyes of casual viewers.
4. Sharing
Collaborations on YouTube don’t stop when you upload the video. After uploading the video on your respective channels, chalk up a share campaign with your collaborator.
Your first ever collaboration video is a milestone moment, it’s only apt that you give it the press it deserves.
Sharing your video will also help you reach out to even more viewers and draw them to your channel. Many viewers love collab videos, and will be eager to check yours out even if they don’t know anything about you.
5. Audience Retention
Now that you have all these new subscribers, the next challenge would be to keep them subscribed for as long as possible. Take what you learned from your collaborator and give your new subscribers even more reasons to tune in to your channel.
You have to do everything you can to turn your new subscribers into TRUE FANS of yours.
Also, make sure to keep in touch with your collaborator, check in on them from time to time so you won’t have a hard time reaching out to them to again in the future.
Two Brains Are Better Than One
YouTube’s greatest asset is its content creators. Without the millions of YouTubers out there churning out videos by the second, YouTube wouldn’t be the robust platform it is today.
Your fellow YouTubers can also be YOUR greatest asset if you take the plunge and learn to collaborate. Collaborating with someone who has more subscribers than you may seem intimidating, but you’ll never know what a potential partnership can do to your channel if you don’t give it a shot.
Use collaborations as an opportunity to discover new video formats and ideas that will help improve your channel. Collaborations can also help you penetrate a whole new viewership you might not otherwise know about have you continued working alone.
If you’re feeling nervous about reaching out to potential collaborators because of your smaller following, consider purchasing a few thousand YouTube Views or Subscribers from a reputable provider. Bought Views and Subscribers will give you a more impressive social proof that will impress potential collaborators. This will help you make those valuable connections that will keep coming in useful down the line.
Never underestimate the power of a successful collaboration. Collaborating with the right content creator might just be the thing that will propel your channel to the summit of success — YouTube success.
Date: October 23, 2017 / Categories: Tips, / Author: Mariko
