How to Promote YouTube Videos For Maximum Reach

Publishing a video on YouTube is an exciting feeling. But if you have a new channel and don’t have a big following, there’s a good chance that the video just sits there and doesn’t accumulate many views.

Rather than just waiting and hoping for the best, you need to be proactive to ensure your videos reach the maximum possible audience.

10 Ways to Promote YouTube Videos and Get More Views

Ready to get more eyeballs on your YouTube videos? Just apply these ten simple strategies below:

#1 – Make the Description Clear and Specific

To best promote your video, you’ll want its description to be both accurate and interesting.

Your video should stand out from the crowd. Try to determine what content it contains that will help users find it and distinguish it from other videos. Using descriptive language in complete sentences is a good idea.

#2 – Give Credit When Appropriate

If people don’t know the exact title or other keywords associated with your video, they might search the name of a participant or another website where it’s featured. Be sure to include as much information as you feel comfortable, but be careful not to include anything that shouldn’t be publicly displayed.

#3 – Categorize Correctly

The category into which you place your video is part of its description as well. People are more likely to rate your video highly and watch it more frequently if it’s placed in a relevant category.

#4 – Embed Videos in Your Blog Posts

Make sure you not only post them on YouTube but post them into your blog posts with a keyword rich title and description. That way the search engines will index them as unique pages.

When you add the transcribed or additional text to go with the video, make sure to repeat the main keyword concept such as “Promoting YouTube Videos” throughout the text. Sneaky aren’t I? I just added my keywords into this sentence while you weren’t looking.

#5 – Include Videos in Your Email Campaigns

If you have a solid list of subscribers, then you can take advantage of those eyeballs by including new videos in your emails. Just make sure the video is relevant and you’re not spamming those people.

It works best if you include a video early on in the message so it’s one of the first things people see when they open the email.

#6 – Blast it On Social Media

You should create a cadence on your social media channels every time you publish a new video on YouTube. Share it on Facebook, X (aka Twitter), LinkedIn, and every channel that allows you to post a YouTube link.

Here’s one tricky difference to understand. Repurposing a video for social media isn’t quite the same as promoting it on YouTube.

For example, you could clip a portion of your YouTube video and use it as a reel on Instagram or TikTok. However, those views don’t drive people to the YouTube video itself or count as a YouTube view. So while I definitely encourage you to make the most of your content and splice it up in different formats, just be aware that sometimes those efforts won’t directly translate to YouTube views.

# 7 – Mention Your Videos on Podcast Episodes

If you know me and follow my content, you know that I’m probably the biggest advocate on the planet of Talk Marketing. So if you’re hosting a podcast or you’re a guest on another podcast, use this as an opportunity to promote one of your YouTube videos.

Obviously, it needs to be relevant to the discussion. And while it takes an extra step for the listen (who now has to go find you on YouTube), it can be a great way to target those people who are really engaged with what’s happening in an episode.

Think about it like this. People promote their books and movies on podcasts all the time.

What takes more effort from a listener? Compared to these actions, watching a video on YouTube is a breeze.

#8 – Make the Video Highly Shareable

This is especially true when you’re embedding it on your website or sharing it on social media. If you can get other people to share it, you can just sit back and let them do the work.

Even if you don’t necessarily “go viral,” you’ll still get more eyeballs on your content from people who are outside of your direct network.

#9 – Promote Them in Your Books

I recommend this for your best videos, especially if it’s something evergreen that’s relevant forever.

For example, let’s say you’re writing a book on breathing techniques. You can obviously describe different breathing sequences in the text. But you can always direct people to your YouTube channel if they’re interested in following along with a specific technique.

#10 – Create Compelling Content That People Actually Want to See

Here’s something that often gets overlooked when we’re talking about YouTube promotion. If your content is poor quality and doens’t offer any value, then you’re really going to struggle promoting it.

You don’t need to strive for perfection either. Otherwise, your videos will never be ready and you won’t have anything to publish.

But always look for ways to add value, address actual needs, and shoot for quality that’s 80% or higher.