What to fix if Your Audience is NOT Growing on YouTube

Your analytics tell you so much about what’s working on your YouTube channel, but if your numbers are down, how do you know what to fix? Why isn’t your YouTube channel growing? What can you do to get better results? What can you fix on your channel if it’s not growing? It might not be what you think—YouTube channel analytics and optimization are key to understanding these issues and making the necessary improvements.

VIDEO: What to Fix if Your Audience is NOT Growing on YouTube | Ep. 9

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Understanding Your YouTube Channel Analytics and Optimization

Your YouTube analytics offer a wealth of information about your channel’s performance. Here are some key areas to focus on:

Views, Watch Time, Subscribers, Estimated Revenue
- Views and Watch Time: Track the number of views and the total watch time your videos accumulate. If these metrics are down, consider whether you’ve posted new videos in the last 28 days and whether they are long-form content.
- Subscribers and Revenue: These metrics provide an overview but don’t offer insights into what to tweak. They’re more reflective of the broader trends on your channel.
Latest Published Content
- Look at the performance of your latest videos. A video with a high view count but a low average view duration might be intriguing enough to attract clicks but not engaging enough to retain viewers. Consider revising your thumbnail and title to improve click-through rates (CTR).
Comments and Audience Engagement
- Comments: Positive, long comments indicate strong engagement. If you’re not receiving comments, prompt your audience by asking questions or encouraging them to share their thoughts. However, a lack of comments isn’t necessarily a bad sign; it can vary by niche. In Episode 8: 10 Ways to Tell What is Working on Your YouTube Channel, I mentioned that your comment section is a metric that you could look at to tell you that you’re doing well.
Lead Generation
- Track the number of leads generated from your YouTube content. Ensure your lead magnets are compelling and clearly communicated. Test different lead magnets to see which ones resonate best with your audience. I talked about this in Episode 3: 5 Ways to Build Your Email List, I gave lots of ideas for generating leads with your YouTube channel like how to build your list with your content with your YouTube channel
Top Content Over Time
- Compare your top content from the last 90 days with your current videos. If there’s a mismatch, you might be attracting the wrong audience. Consider pivoting your content strategy to align with your top-performing videos.

Diving Deeper into YouTube Channel Analytics and Optimization

Audience Retention
- Analyze your retention graphs to see where viewers drop off. Aim to keep at least 50% of viewers watching beyond the first 30 seconds. Use short hooks and get straight to the point without lengthy intros.
Returning vs. New Viewers
- Understand who your content is for—existing audience or new viewers. Tailor your videos accordingly. Content aimed at new viewers should be SEO-optimized, while content for existing viewers should address their specific interests and questions.
Subscriber Growth
- Don’t obsess over subscriber counts. Instead, focus on creating valuable content. Encourage subscriptions naturally by highlighting the benefits of subscribing to your channel.

Improving Click-Through Rates and Impressions

Click-Through Rates (CTR)
- A good CTR is one that’s better than your current rate. Continuously test and tweak your thumbnails and titles to make them more enticing. Aim for clarity and specificity.
Impressions
- Track your impressions to see how often your videos are being shown as options to viewers. If impressions are low, focus on SEO optimization, and ensure your titles and thumbnails are attractive. One of my YouTube videos, “Six Things I Quit to Go from Part-Time YouTuber to Six-Figure Business” is an example of a successful video that brought in new viewers and subscribers. You can take a topic that you know people are interested in, that you know your audience is interested in, and make it a little bit juicier so that when they see it when they see the title and they see your thumbnail they’re like oh well that’s a unique spin.

Enhancing Watch Time

Watch Time
- Prioritize total watch time over average view duration. YouTube values content that keeps viewers on the platform longer. Create engaging, valuable content that encourages viewers to stay and watch more of your videos.

Funnel Your Audience

Creating a YouTube Funnel
- Create a set-and-forget YouTube funnel to guide viewers from your content to your offers. This ensures you’re not just growing your audience but also converting viewers into clients or customers. Check Episode 1: Consistent Sales of Your Online Course with YouTube, this is where I walk through my “set-it-and-forget-it YouTube funnel” on my channel,l how it works, how it looks, and how you can set one up for yourself so that, as your audience grows, your income flows. As your audience grows, you’re attracting the audience and community that you’re trying to build.

In summary, analyze your YouTube analytics to identify what’s not working and implement these strategies to make necessary improvements. Whether it’s tweaking your titles and thumbnails, engaging more with your audience, or optimizing your SEO, each step can significantly enhance your channel’s performance.

If you have an online business with a course, program, or any other kind of offer, and you’re not currently generating consistent sales on autopilot, I’d like to introduce you to the hands-off YouTube funnel that has made me over $20k on a $147 course! That way, you too can make consistent sales of your offer, with the beauty and simplicity of organic, evergreen traffic from YouTube! Start here with my free “AIT Method” training.