**Guest post from #1 YouTube Consultant Derral Eves.

 

 

 

"Music and YouTube go together like tacos and Tuesdays. If you scrolled through a list of the biggest YouTube channels, you would find that a lot of them are music channels. So if any genre has a good chance of succeeding on the platform, it’s yours!

I understand that a lot of musicians love to share their music in live settings, and why wouldn’t they? In the past year, unfortunately, sometimes the only option for exposure has been online.

So...what better time to focus on your YouTube audience than now?

I’ve been on YouTube since the beginning in 2005, and I’ve seen creators from every walk of life fail ... but I’ve also seen them succeed. I’ve helped generate more than 60 billion views on YouTube. I know what it takes to grow your audience. I know how to monetize and how to diversify your income in ways you didn’t even know existed. And I want to help YOU.

One of my first big successes on YouTube was with a music channel. They wanted to sell pianos in their brick-and-mortar piano store by enhancing their online presence. “The Piano Guys” filmed videos of Jon Schmidt on a grand piano and Steven Sharp Nelson on the cello. But what made these videos unique was the “in the wild” locations. They played these big, beautiful instruments in big, beautiful locales all over the world.

Their YouTube channel is still going strong today, and guess what? They never sold a single piano! But they have sold out stadiums worldwide, they have a loyal community of followers and fans, and they have made more money than they ever thought possible.

+How (And Why) To Hit 4000 Watch Hours and 1000 Subscribers On YouTube

How do you build a bigger audience, foster brand loyalty, and grow revenue?

The Piano Guys know what kind of content made their viewers fall in love with them. People love their music, sure, but also they are loyal because they like The Piano Guys for who they are.

Be Authentic

One of the first things I teach YouTube creators is how to identify their audience. What does this have to do with being authentic? Being genuinely YOU will endear the right people to your content. The viewers who connect with you will want to keep watching your videos. Then when your audience is honed in, you can watch your video analytics to see how they interact with your content. You’ll be able to see what content they love, and what content they disengage from.

Then you can adjust your plan moving forward to reconnect with them. I call this “analyze and adjust.” You should always, always be analyzing what’s working and what’s not working so you can adjust what you’re doing towards the former.

+The Musicpreneur Mindset

Be Engaging

Creators who keep their viewers watching don’t do it by accident. They use reengagement strategies throughout every video. They have a good hook, they use camera angles and zooms, good video editing, and pattern interrupts that reset your mind to situations or behaviors in the video.

Think of it this way: you should always be pulling the viewer into the video. They want to see what’s coming up in the next 5 seconds, 30 seconds, 60 seconds, and so on.

+The Top Five Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Started My Music Career

Be Consistent

Your audience thrives on consistency. They want to know what to expect from you, and when. Have a consistent upload schedule. Be consistent to your brand. Be consistent in your content and your message. Don’t throw them a minor chord when they are expecting a major. (Did that music analogy fall flat?)

Another example from The Piano Guys: We filmed a hilarious outro for a video. I thought it was viral video gold. But The Piano Guys talked about it, and they decided to scrap it. I thought they were nuts, but they knew their audience. This was not consistent with their content or their message. And they were right.

+Spotify CEO demands NEVER-ENDING WORK? ...Are we Slaves? 

These are just three things you can start focusing on now to jumpstart your YouTube strategy, but we’re just tickling the ivories here. There’s a whole lot more going on under the lid.

I have a lot of resources to help YouTube creators, including my YouTube channel, Derral Eves, and my group coaching program Channel JumpStart, but I’m most excited about my new book coming out on February 23rd. It’s called The YouTube Formula: How Anyone Can Unlock the Algorithm to Drive Views, Build an Audience, and Grow Revenue, and I go really in-depth on audience growth and monetization.

When you really nail down your audience and it starts to grow, you’ll have opportunities to monetize, including ad revenue, sponsorships, brand deals, and so much more.

Get your copy of the book and some other great bonuses when you pre-order at ytformula.com."

 

 

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