YouTube is massive. Despite the fact that it’s not even a decade old yet, it has become one of the largest media platforms in the world. YouTube continues to grow at an astounding pace, and shows no signs of stopping. This creates a golden opportunity for brands, individuals, groups, and many more. It’s unlikely you’ll reach the top tier on YouTube, but there’s plenty of value in the middle tier for you to grab.

YouTube Facts

We know YouTube is big, but the actual numbers are astounding. There are an estimated 100 hours of video uploaded to YouTube every single minute. YouTube has more than one billion active users, who account for almost one-third of all internet users. There are localized versions of YouTube in over 70 different countries throughout the world.

Although many people have earned a few dollars on YouTube, only a few have reached the elite tier. This elite tier features names like PewDiePie, Smosh, Yogscast, and several others. Currently, these three channels are the largest on YouTube, worth over $5 million each. PewDiewPie is the largest on YouTube, weighing in at a whopping $7 million estimated worth.

How they made it happen

These channels achieved this success through different factors. First of all, they are easy to relate to and offer humor that appeals to a wide audience. This is an important thing for most niches on YouTube, as the site’s users are looking to be entertained. Without a good personality representing your channel, the elite tier is likely unreachable.

Endorsements also play a huge part in creating success on YouTube. Organic traffic is hard to achieve on your own. Collaborating with other successful related channels is a great way to promote a channel. Websites, blogs, and forums are also great places to seek endorsements. This is one of the most difficult ways to grow your YouTube success, and there will likely be quite a bit of rejection. Still, you never know – one share from the right outlet could be the push that makes you viral.

One of the more important requirements to reaching the elite tier is to create quality content. If you throw together a video as fast as you can just to get it over with, don’t expect a great response. Even if you manage to receive targeted traffic, the poor quality will turn a lot of people away. The goal is to make sure the people viewing your content will want to subscribe for more videos in the future.

Faking it ’til Making it

There’s no way to fake your way to the elite tier on YouTube. Some get the idea that legitimate fame can be achieved via fake views alone. Although this isn’t true, fake views can be used as part of a greater marketing strategy. Buying YouTube services won’t get you 70%, 50%, or even 30% of the way there. They can however, help garner a few extra organic views that otherwise wouldn’t exist.

When videos go viral, their popularity grows exponentially. This snowball effect occurs because a video with higher metrics is more likely to get a click. If a user sees a video that sparks their interest but only has 50 views, she might not bother to check it out. There’s a lot of content on YouTube, so people tend to not waste time on anything that might be boring. If that video had 100,000 views, it must be exciting, which would entice a click.

Views alone without likes or shares usually draws a red flag. It’s important to not make it obvious that your video has fake metrics, so be sure to add an appropriate amount. Keep in mind, though, that the end goal is new subscribers to your channel, and this only occurs if you produce high-quality content. Getting people to view your videos is one thing, but keeping them coming back is a whole other story. Make sure you invest equal amounts of effort into both of these areas.

For those of you wondering, buying views won’t generate revenue from YouTube. Since the views aren’t real, you won’t be getting clicks on ads, and YouTube knows that there aren’t real eyeballs on their partners’ ads. The real value in fake views comes from the organic traffic that would otherwise be lost.

It’s still anyone’s game

It’s always going to be a challenge to achieve huge success on YouTube. You aren’t going to become as rich and famous as PewDiewPie or Smosh by faking your way there; but you might with the proper mix of fake metrics, high-quality content, and targeted advertising. After all, don’t think that those guys up at the top didn’t buy views to get a head start.

There is plenty of money to be made on YouTube even if you aren’t one of the top dogs. As YouTube’s user base continues to grow, so do the opportunities for content creators.