YouTube has become a platform that can turn anyone with a webcam and a good angle into a celebrity. A lot of the biggest channels on YouTube were created by people with no prior following. Of course we aren’t talking about College Humor or Selena Gomez. But rather, people like Lindsey Stirling and PewDiePie who established their entire following from YouTube channels. For them, the channels started out as a hobby and turned into a goldmine.

How they did it

Looking at how these megastars achieved YouTube fame can be helpful in your own YouTube journey. Still, a lot has changed since these guys first started their channels. PewDiePie already had a million subscribers in 2012, and Lindsey was up there even earlier. For the most part, there is quite a bit to learn from what they did, but new tactics have also arisen.

The biggest stars on YouTube got to where they are through a lot of hard work. Not just on their videos, but their personalities as well. For example, PewDiePie created a sense of community with the Brofist. Depending on your niche, you’ll need to make yourself entertaining. And there are plenty of channels where the creator is more behind the scenes and less hands-on. The key is to have something engaging about your video, a piece that makes your audience feel the need to share it.

Engaged an audience, and produced high-quality content on a regular basis – that’s what these channels did. Along with targeted advertising, video optimization, and probably some luck. A few lucky shares from the right people could skyrocket a YouTube channel. But, with the way things work today, you don’t need much luck anymore. Going viral can now be a mirage, one that you can create with ease. You’ll still probably need those shares, but you can make them easier to get.

How you can do it

There’s a simple way a lot of up-and-coming YouTube stars are getting popular seemingly overnight. The answer is social media service providers that can make you viral. We’re not talking about those scam websites that offer 10,000 subscribers for $4.99. Those guys will take your money and spam your channel with ads and low-quality followers (here’s how to avoid them). Instead, there’s a new breed of these vendors, and their services can be very helpful.

Here’s the difference: you get an entire package designed to make you appear viral. It’s not just a bunch of fake views on a single video. A smart marketing plan includes comments, likes, shares, subscribers, all in addition to views. The comments need to be relative and the View-to-Like ratio needs to be proportionate. Also, the best views have high-retention, something rarely offered by cheap sites.

Once you’ve created this viral mirage, you can use it to your advantage. Start contacting websites in your niche to see if they’re interested in two-way promotion. You can also message other YouTubers to see if they want to collaborate with you. This isn’t bulletproof though, and if your views don’t look natural, others may be reluctant to work with you. Protect yourself against that by having high-quality views and likes, comments, and awesome video content.

Having a lot of views and subscribers also makes it easier to advertise. Forum posts, Reddit posts, and social media shares are guaranteed to have better responses. When people see something that is popular, they’re naturally more inclined to look at it. It’s human nature, and human nature is just a part of marketing.

See for yourself

The only way you’re going to know for sure if you have what it takes is to go out there and give it a shot. If you’ve been dreaming of YouTube fame for a while now, don’t let this opportunity slip. There’s no guarantee bought virality will be what skyrockets you to fame, so take action if you’re serious. Best of luck to those who decide to stick it out!

Featured image via LiveNation