How to Get Subscribers on YouTube: A Process for a New Channel, from Zero to the First Hundred

You gain subscribers on YouTube when your channel repeatedly serves one clearly defined viewer and each video naturally leads them to the next. The process for a new channel is: choose a narrow topic, write precise titles and legible thumbnails, arrange videos into playlists, use end screens, connect Shorts with longer videos, and read the statistics in YouTube Studio every week.

No one can promise rapid growth. The first hundred subscribers are often the hardest, because the channel has no history yet from which the system could tell whom to show it to. The following steps, however, increase the chance that a viewer who comes across your video will stay with the channel.

Why do people click "Subscribe"?

A viewer subscribes when they expect to receive further videos from you that they want to watch. One successful video is not enough; what matters is the promise that similar value will come again.

YouTube states on its recommendation pages that the system works with viewing behaviour, likes, dislikes, subscriptions and feedback, including viewer satisfaction surveys. In other words: a video that people watch to the end and are satisfied with has a better starting position than a video that merely attracts a click.

How do I choose a topic and a target viewer?

The target viewer is a specific person with a specific need, the one you are making the video for. Instead of “I cook”, write something like “quick dinners for working parents in under 30 minutes”.

1. Write one sentence describing who the channel is for and what it will offer them.
2. Write down 15–20 questions this viewer needs answered. Each question is a candidate for a video.
3. Group the questions into 2–4 topics. These will later become your playlists.
4. Keep your first 10 videos within these topics, even if you are tempted to try others.
5. Set a pace you can sustain in the long run, and use, for example, content plan template.

A narrow topic does not mean a small audience forever. However, it helps people who subscribe because of one video to have a reason to watch the next ones too.

How should you write titles and create thumbnails according to YouTube's recommendations?

The title and thumbnail should convey what the video offers within a few seconds and must match the content exactly. YouTube's help article Thumbnail & title tips explicitly warns that an inaccurate title will cause viewers to stop watching.

Titles

• Briefly, with keywords at the beginning. According to the help article, viewers often see only part of the title.
• A searchable or a curiosity-driven title. YouTube distinguishes between titles that clearly describe the content and help with search, and titles that spark curiosity among viewers who were not searching for the topic. For a new channel, the first type usually helps more, because people search for videos based on their problem.
• Capital letters and emoji sparingly, for emphasis, not throughout the whole title.

Thumbnails

A thumbnail is the preview image of a video. You can upload a custom thumbnail only on a verified account. YouTube recommends a 16 : 9 format, a resolution of 3840 × 2160 px (at least 640 px wide), a JPG or PNG file, and up to 50 MB when uploading from a computer (status as of November 2026). Thumbnails must comply with the Community Guidelines, otherwise they may be removed and you may temporarily lose the ability to upload custom thumbnails.

• When filming, take several photos so you have options to choose from.
• One main motif, bold colors, and short, legible text (if any at all).
• Check the preview on a phone, where the thumbnail appears small.
• You can later update the thumbnail and title of older videos to reach a new audience.

How do you keep viewers on your channel: playlists, end screens and posts?

Subscriptions often come only after the second or third video, so each video should show where to go next. Three tools built into YouTube serve this purpose.

Tool	What it is for	Things to watch out for (status as of November 2026)
Playlist	Groups videos on one topic in sequence, so viewers continue with the next episode.	Playlist can be public or private; the number of public playlists per day is limited.
End screen	At the end of the video, it suggests another video, a playlist or a subscribe button.	It can be added to the last 5–20 seconds of a video at least 25 s long, with a maximum of 4 elements; it does not work on videos made for kids, and viewers can hide it (YouTube Help).
Posts	Text, images, polls, quizzes or a link to a video between individual videos.	YouTube states that posts may bring reach and audience engagement; the number of posts per 24 hours is limited.

Practical approach: after publishing each video, add it to the relevant playlist, set up an end screen linking to the most similar video and a subscribe button, and in the post ask viewers what topic they would like next. Answers in comments and polls are a free list of future video ideas.

How do you link Shorts to long videos?

Shorts are short vertical videos; as of November 2026, YouTube allows Shorts up to 3 minutes long. Short clips can introduce your channel to new people, but they bring subscribers mainly when they relate to the same topic as your longer videos.

• From a longer video, pick one tip or an interesting moment and turn it into a Short.
• Add a related video to your Shorts so that viewers can go on to the full video; the process is described in the Get started creating YouTube Shorts.
• Do not change your channel's topic for the sake of Shorts. Subscribers gained through a joke outside the topic will often not watch your longer videos.

A more detailed guide to short videos is available in the article how to get more views on YouTube Shorts.

What to monitor in YouTube Studio?

YouTube Studio shows which videos bring in viewers and subscribers and where people leave. You will find the statistics in the left menu under Analytics; for an individual video, use the Content section (YouTube Analytics help, status as of November 2026).

• Impressions – how many times the thumbnail was shown to viewers.
• Click-through rate (CTR) is the share of thumbnail impressions that ended in a click. The Help article recommends monitoring CTR on the home page and in suggested videos during the first 24 hours after publishing.
• Average view duration and audience retention – where viewers leave. A sharp drop at the start usually means the intro does not match the title.
• Subscribers and returning viewers on the Audience tab – whether people come back repeatedly.
• Traffic sources on the Reach tab – search, suggested videos, Shorts, external websites.

Simply compare your latest video with previous ones once a week: does it have a higher or lower CTR and audience retention? Always test one change (a new thumbnail style, a shorter intro) on several videos, so that you know what caused the change.

What does YouTube prohibit, and what can subscriptions not replace?

YouTube's rules on fake engagement prohibit buying views or subscribers from third parties, "sub4sub" subscriber exchanges, and artificial traffic generation. Under these rules, violations may result in a warning, a strike (a record of a policy violation on the channel) for repeated violations, and termination of the channel after three strikes within 90 days (as of November 2026).

Purchased subscribers therefore do not exclude channel restrictions. They do not replace content, do not guarantee audience interest, views or sales, and may worsen the ratio between subscriber count and actual video viewing. They are also not a route to monetization: YouTube Partner Program requires compliance with monetization policies and, in addition to 1,000 subscribers, 4,000 valid watch hours within 12 months, or 10 million valid Shorts views within 90 days (as of November 2026). The programme's conditions are explained in the article YouTube monetization and its conditions.

When paid promotion makes sense and when it does not?

A paid package may only make sense as a supplement: for a new channel with a few well-produced videos as an initial social proof, or to support a specific video or campaign that you are also continuing to work on. It does not make sense if the channel has no content, if you want to meet the monetization requirements, if the channel has already received a warning or strike, or if you expect sales and audience reactions. YouTube's rules do not permit the purchase of engagement, and Sledujici.eu's terms and conditions address this in Article 3.3 of the terms and conditions explicitly state, including that account restrictions cannot be ruled out.

If, after considering these risks, you are considering promotion, you can find the service description on the page YouTube subscribers and current prices in price list.