Implementing Custom Overlays in YouTube Videos

How to Use YouTube Cards and Annotations?

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

YouTube Annotations and Cards are both tools for linking viewers to your other videos or to off-YouTube webpages. Two of the major differences between them are:

Annotations are not clickable on mobile devices.

You cannot choose the size or positioning of Cards.

This article will teach you about both Cards and Annotations and discuss the best uses for each of them.

Part 1: Annotations

Annotations are messages that float overtop of your videos in the YouTube player. Usually, annotations are clickable and take users to other content created by you.

Section 1: Types of Annotations

There are five types of YouTube annotations:

Notes are colored boxes placed over the top of your videos.

Speech Bubbles look like dialogue boxes in a comic strip. They have tails that you can adjust so it looks like one of the people in your video is saying what is written in the annotation.

Spotlights have a subtle border and are completely clear inside. Your text only appears when a viewer’s cursor hovers over top of these annotations.

Labels are like spotlights except that viewers do not have to hover over them for your text to be visible.

Any of these annotations can be used to link viewers to other videos, or as subscribe links. You can also add a simple Title to your video through the Annotations menu.

Section 2: How to Use Annotations

*Note: the above video mentions Pause annotations, which are no longer available.

Here are two of the best uses for annotations:

Clickable End Cards / Outros

One of the best ways you can use spotlight annotations is to create clickable end cards for your videos.

When your video finishes playing the YouTube player will display a selection of suggested videos that might direct viewers away from your channel. You can keep more of these viewers watching your content by creating your own ‘suggested videos’ card and putting it at the end of your videos.

Put thumbnails of two or three of your other videos on your end card, or use ‘picture-in-picture’ to actually imbed footage from them. Then, after you upload your video, go in and place clickable spotlight annotations over top of your video thumbnails.

This is one use for annotations that cannot be duplicated with cards.

Promoting Your Videos

You should not wait until the end of your video to start linking viewers to other content. Many viewers will click away before they see your end card because your video is not exactly what they were looking for. By placing note or speech bubble annotations occasionally throughout your videos you can catch some of these people before they click off of your channel.

This works especially well if you link to videos on similar subjects to the one you are annotating.

Instead of just linking to another video of yours, try to link to that video on a playlist. Once a viewer is on a playlist your videos will auto-play after each other, which is good for both your view count and watch time.

You can also use the newer YouTube Cards for this, but Annotations might still be a better choice because viewers only need to click once vs. twice for Cards.

Try both and see which performs best for your channel. It might be in your best interest to keep on using both as they target different audiences – Cards are clickable on mobile devices, for example, but Annotations are not.

Part 2: YouTube Cards

YouTube Cards are newer than annotations and a lot of people believe they will one day replace Annotations. While there are benefits to Cards – like embedding images to represent your links – you cannot choose the shape, size, or placement of them. This means they have limited uses.

When viewers click on a Card they are shown additional information and a thumbnail representing the page they will be taken to if they choose to click again. This extra step could be either help viewers decide to click your links or give them a second chance to decide they would rather not.

Section 1: When to Use Cards

A linked Annotation is simply a call to action viewers can click on. A Card is a call to action as well, but instead of taking the viewer directly to where its link leads when it is clicked a Card opens up into a larger version of itself with a thumbnail image.

Crowdfunding pages (Patreon is a great choice for video creators), charity fundraising pages, and merchandise stores are all examples of links that benefit from the format of YouTube Cards.

When you link a viewer to a non-YouTube page you break up their session time, which negatively impacts your watch time and SEO ranking. You want to make sure that the viewers you are directing away from YouTube are the ones most likely to convert after they leave. By ‘convert’ we mean to contribute to your Patreon campaign, donate to the charity you are promoting, or buy some of your merchandise.

Giving viewers more information and a thumbnail through a Card can help ensure the most interested viewers are the ones clicking your links.

If you want to find a video editing solution that empowers your imagination and creativity yet takes less effort, please try this robust and user-friendly video editing software Filmora, which is equipped with its own footage stock Wondershare Filmstock and will definitely enhance your productivity and helps you to make money by making videos much easier.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

YouTube Annotations and Cards are both tools for linking viewers to your other videos or to off-YouTube webpages. Two of the major differences between them are:

Annotations are not clickable on mobile devices.

You cannot choose the size or positioning of Cards.

This article will teach you about both Cards and Annotations and discuss the best uses for each of them.

Part 1: Annotations

Annotations are messages that float overtop of your videos in the YouTube player. Usually, annotations are clickable and take users to other content created by you.

Section 1: Types of Annotations

There are five types of YouTube annotations:

Notes are colored boxes placed over the top of your videos.

Speech Bubbles look like dialogue boxes in a comic strip. They have tails that you can adjust so it looks like one of the people in your video is saying what is written in the annotation.

Spotlights have a subtle border and are completely clear inside. Your text only appears when a viewer’s cursor hovers over top of these annotations.

Labels are like spotlights except that viewers do not have to hover over them for your text to be visible.

Any of these annotations can be used to link viewers to other videos, or as subscribe links. You can also add a simple Title to your video through the Annotations menu.

Section 2: How to Use Annotations

*Note: the above video mentions Pause annotations, which are no longer available.

Here are two of the best uses for annotations:

Clickable End Cards / Outros

One of the best ways you can use spotlight annotations is to create clickable end cards for your videos.

When your video finishes playing the YouTube player will display a selection of suggested videos that might direct viewers away from your channel. You can keep more of these viewers watching your content by creating your own ‘suggested videos’ card and putting it at the end of your videos.

Put thumbnails of two or three of your other videos on your end card, or use ‘picture-in-picture’ to actually imbed footage from them. Then, after you upload your video, go in and place clickable spotlight annotations over top of your video thumbnails.

This is one use for annotations that cannot be duplicated with cards.

Promoting Your Videos

You should not wait until the end of your video to start linking viewers to other content. Many viewers will click away before they see your end card because your video is not exactly what they were looking for. By placing note or speech bubble annotations occasionally throughout your videos you can catch some of these people before they click off of your channel.

This works especially well if you link to videos on similar subjects to the one you are annotating.

Instead of just linking to another video of yours, try to link to that video on a playlist. Once a viewer is on a playlist your videos will auto-play after each other, which is good for both your view count and watch time.

You can also use the newer YouTube Cards for this, but Annotations might still be a better choice because viewers only need to click once vs. twice for Cards.

Try both and see which performs best for your channel. It might be in your best interest to keep on using both as they target different audiences – Cards are clickable on mobile devices, for example, but Annotations are not.

Part 2: YouTube Cards

YouTube Cards are newer than annotations and a lot of people believe they will one day replace Annotations. While there are benefits to Cards – like embedding images to represent your links – you cannot choose the shape, size, or placement of them. This means they have limited uses.

When viewers click on a Card they are shown additional information and a thumbnail representing the page they will be taken to if they choose to click again. This extra step could be either help viewers decide to click your links or give them a second chance to decide they would rather not.

Section 1: When to Use Cards

A linked Annotation is simply a call to action viewers can click on. A Card is a call to action as well, but instead of taking the viewer directly to where its link leads when it is clicked a Card opens up into a larger version of itself with a thumbnail image.

Crowdfunding pages (Patreon is a great choice for video creators), charity fundraising pages, and merchandise stores are all examples of links that benefit from the format of YouTube Cards.

When you link a viewer to a non-YouTube page you break up their session time, which negatively impacts your watch time and SEO ranking. You want to make sure that the viewers you are directing away from YouTube are the ones most likely to convert after they leave. By ‘convert’ we mean to contribute to your Patreon campaign, donate to the charity you are promoting, or buy some of your merchandise.

Giving viewers more information and a thumbnail through a Card can help ensure the most interested viewers are the ones clicking your links.

If you want to find a video editing solution that empowers your imagination and creativity yet takes less effort, please try this robust and user-friendly video editing software Filmora, which is equipped with its own footage stock Wondershare Filmstock and will definitely enhance your productivity and helps you to make money by making videos much easier.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

YouTube Annotations and Cards are both tools for linking viewers to your other videos or to off-YouTube webpages. Two of the major differences between them are:

Annotations are not clickable on mobile devices.

You cannot choose the size or positioning of Cards.

This article will teach you about both Cards and Annotations and discuss the best uses for each of them.

Part 1: Annotations

Annotations are messages that float overtop of your videos in the YouTube player. Usually, annotations are clickable and take users to other content created by you.

Section 1: Types of Annotations

There are five types of YouTube annotations:

Notes are colored boxes placed over the top of your videos.

Speech Bubbles look like dialogue boxes in a comic strip. They have tails that you can adjust so it looks like one of the people in your video is saying what is written in the annotation.

Spotlights have a subtle border and are completely clear inside. Your text only appears when a viewer’s cursor hovers over top of these annotations.

Labels are like spotlights except that viewers do not have to hover over them for your text to be visible.

Any of these annotations can be used to link viewers to other videos, or as subscribe links. You can also add a simple Title to your video through the Annotations menu.

Section 2: How to Use Annotations

*Note: the above video mentions Pause annotations, which are no longer available.

Here are two of the best uses for annotations:

Clickable End Cards / Outros

One of the best ways you can use spotlight annotations is to create clickable end cards for your videos.

When your video finishes playing the YouTube player will display a selection of suggested videos that might direct viewers away from your channel. You can keep more of these viewers watching your content by creating your own ‘suggested videos’ card and putting it at the end of your videos.

Put thumbnails of two or three of your other videos on your end card, or use ‘picture-in-picture’ to actually imbed footage from them. Then, after you upload your video, go in and place clickable spotlight annotations over top of your video thumbnails.

This is one use for annotations that cannot be duplicated with cards.

Promoting Your Videos

You should not wait until the end of your video to start linking viewers to other content. Many viewers will click away before they see your end card because your video is not exactly what they were looking for. By placing note or speech bubble annotations occasionally throughout your videos you can catch some of these people before they click off of your channel.

This works especially well if you link to videos on similar subjects to the one you are annotating.

Instead of just linking to another video of yours, try to link to that video on a playlist. Once a viewer is on a playlist your videos will auto-play after each other, which is good for both your view count and watch time.

You can also use the newer YouTube Cards for this, but Annotations might still be a better choice because viewers only need to click once vs. twice for Cards.

Try both and see which performs best for your channel. It might be in your best interest to keep on using both as they target different audiences – Cards are clickable on mobile devices, for example, but Annotations are not.

Part 2: YouTube Cards

YouTube Cards are newer than annotations and a lot of people believe they will one day replace Annotations. While there are benefits to Cards – like embedding images to represent your links – you cannot choose the shape, size, or placement of them. This means they have limited uses.

When viewers click on a Card they are shown additional information and a thumbnail representing the page they will be taken to if they choose to click again. This extra step could be either help viewers decide to click your links or give them a second chance to decide they would rather not.

Section 1: When to Use Cards

A linked Annotation is simply a call to action viewers can click on. A Card is a call to action as well, but instead of taking the viewer directly to where its link leads when it is clicked a Card opens up into a larger version of itself with a thumbnail image.

Crowdfunding pages (Patreon is a great choice for video creators), charity fundraising pages, and merchandise stores are all examples of links that benefit from the format of YouTube Cards.

When you link a viewer to a non-YouTube page you break up their session time, which negatively impacts your watch time and SEO ranking. You want to make sure that the viewers you are directing away from YouTube are the ones most likely to convert after they leave. By ‘convert’ we mean to contribute to your Patreon campaign, donate to the charity you are promoting, or buy some of your merchandise.

Giving viewers more information and a thumbnail through a Card can help ensure the most interested viewers are the ones clicking your links.

If you want to find a video editing solution that empowers your imagination and creativity yet takes less effort, please try this robust and user-friendly video editing software Filmora, which is equipped with its own footage stock Wondershare Filmstock and will definitely enhance your productivity and helps you to make money by making videos much easier.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

YouTube Annotations and Cards are both tools for linking viewers to your other videos or to off-YouTube webpages. Two of the major differences between them are:

Annotations are not clickable on mobile devices.

You cannot choose the size or positioning of Cards.

This article will teach you about both Cards and Annotations and discuss the best uses for each of them.

Part 1: Annotations

Annotations are messages that float overtop of your videos in the YouTube player. Usually, annotations are clickable and take users to other content created by you.

Section 1: Types of Annotations

There are five types of YouTube annotations:

Notes are colored boxes placed over the top of your videos.

Speech Bubbles look like dialogue boxes in a comic strip. They have tails that you can adjust so it looks like one of the people in your video is saying what is written in the annotation.

Spotlights have a subtle border and are completely clear inside. Your text only appears when a viewer’s cursor hovers over top of these annotations.

Labels are like spotlights except that viewers do not have to hover over them for your text to be visible.

Any of these annotations can be used to link viewers to other videos, or as subscribe links. You can also add a simple Title to your video through the Annotations menu.

Section 2: How to Use Annotations

*Note: the above video mentions Pause annotations, which are no longer available.

Here are two of the best uses for annotations:

Clickable End Cards / Outros

One of the best ways you can use spotlight annotations is to create clickable end cards for your videos.

When your video finishes playing the YouTube player will display a selection of suggested videos that might direct viewers away from your channel. You can keep more of these viewers watching your content by creating your own ‘suggested videos’ card and putting it at the end of your videos.

Put thumbnails of two or three of your other videos on your end card, or use ‘picture-in-picture’ to actually imbed footage from them. Then, after you upload your video, go in and place clickable spotlight annotations over top of your video thumbnails.

This is one use for annotations that cannot be duplicated with cards.

Promoting Your Videos

You should not wait until the end of your video to start linking viewers to other content. Many viewers will click away before they see your end card because your video is not exactly what they were looking for. By placing note or speech bubble annotations occasionally throughout your videos you can catch some of these people before they click off of your channel.

This works especially well if you link to videos on similar subjects to the one you are annotating.

Instead of just linking to another video of yours, try to link to that video on a playlist. Once a viewer is on a playlist your videos will auto-play after each other, which is good for both your view count and watch time.

You can also use the newer YouTube Cards for this, but Annotations might still be a better choice because viewers only need to click once vs. twice for Cards.

Try both and see which performs best for your channel. It might be in your best interest to keep on using both as they target different audiences – Cards are clickable on mobile devices, for example, but Annotations are not.

Part 2: YouTube Cards

YouTube Cards are newer than annotations and a lot of people believe they will one day replace Annotations. While there are benefits to Cards – like embedding images to represent your links – you cannot choose the shape, size, or placement of them. This means they have limited uses.

When viewers click on a Card they are shown additional information and a thumbnail representing the page they will be taken to if they choose to click again. This extra step could be either help viewers decide to click your links or give them a second chance to decide they would rather not.

Section 1: When to Use Cards

A linked Annotation is simply a call to action viewers can click on. A Card is a call to action as well, but instead of taking the viewer directly to where its link leads when it is clicked a Card opens up into a larger version of itself with a thumbnail image.

Crowdfunding pages (Patreon is a great choice for video creators), charity fundraising pages, and merchandise stores are all examples of links that benefit from the format of YouTube Cards.

When you link a viewer to a non-YouTube page you break up their session time, which negatively impacts your watch time and SEO ranking. You want to make sure that the viewers you are directing away from YouTube are the ones most likely to convert after they leave. By ‘convert’ we mean to contribute to your Patreon campaign, donate to the charity you are promoting, or buy some of your merchandise.

Giving viewers more information and a thumbnail through a Card can help ensure the most interested viewers are the ones clicking your links.

If you want to find a video editing solution that empowers your imagination and creativity yet takes less effort, please try this robust and user-friendly video editing software Filmora, which is equipped with its own footage stock Wondershare Filmstock and will definitely enhance your productivity and helps you to make money by making videos much easier.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Does Quick-Subscribe Strategy Boost Audience Growth?

YouTube Sub4Sub: Does It Really Work?

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Sometimes YouTubers with smaller channels feel like their small subscriber counts are holding them back. There is some truth to this. When you have a higher number of subscribers it is easier to get even more. That is why some users try to use methods like Sub4Sub to improve their numbers.

Sub4Sub, or ‘sub for sub’, is the practice of subscribing to somebody else’s channel in exchange for them subscribing to yours. Whether Sub4Sub works is debatable, but it is fairly popular. YouTubers often send messages to other YouTubers asking if they would like to sub for sub, and there are even off-YouTube sites devoted to connecting YouTubers so they can subscribe to each other. A lot of vloggers do not believe in Sub4Sub, though. This is because they doubt whether subscribers gained this way actually help them get more views on their videos.

This article will explain the pros and cons of Sub4Sub.

Does YouTube Sub4Sub Work

1. Does Sub4Sub Work?

The technical answer is ‘yes’. You can get new subscribers quickly using sub for sub and it is in no way against YouTube’s rules. On the other hand, subscribers gained through sub for sub do not watch or share your videos. Users end up with more subscribers, but their channels do not truly grow.

2. Pros of Sub4Sub

A big part of doing well on YouTube is being engaged in your vlogging community. If a YouTuber with a similar topic to yours approaches you with a Sub4Sub request and you engage them in a conversation it could be the beginning of a great friendship. Beyond subscribing to each other you can share tips, comment on each other’s videos, and maybe even collaborate on a video someday.

Sub4Sub can also help some YouTubers with their confidence. It can be discouraging not to see any growth and being embarrassed over their low subscriber counts can result in vloggers deciding to hide that information. They may feel like their content is being judged badly by people who are not even watching their videos based on how few subscribers they have. Building up a higher number using Sub4Sub may allow some YouTubers to move past these concerns and get back to focusing on making good videos.

3. Cons of Sub4Sub

The reality is that if people are pre-judging your videos based on your stats it is not subscribers they are looking at so much as views. Sub4Sub helps you get subscribers, but in most cases those subscribers will never watch any of your videos. They will also never share them or tell their friends to watch them, the way subscribers gained organically will. So while your subscriber count goes up, your view count stays low.

The situation described in the Pros section, where you talk to each other and comment on each other’s videos, is rare. You are more likely to make friends with other YouTubers after you have already watched each other’s videos or after chatting in a forum. It is worth trying to engage a vlogger with a similar topic to yours if they ask you to sub for sub, but most people who ask will have no intention of interacting with you beyond subscribing to each other. Realistically if you are going to use sub for sub to increase your subscriber count by any significant number you will not have time to have actual conversations with everyone you approach, or to watch their videos.

When you agree to exchange subscriptions with somebody there is also the danger that they will decide to unsubscribe from your channel afterwards. This could happen much later when they realize they do not want to be subscribed to so many people and have forgotten which channels were parts of Sub4Sub agreements. Or it could happen within weeks, days, or even hours of you subscribing to them. There are some dishonest YouTubers who use sub for sub to get subscribers while already planning to unsubscribe to anybody who agrees. Their hope is that the other person will not notice or will not bother unsubscribing from them if they do.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Sometimes YouTubers with smaller channels feel like their small subscriber counts are holding them back. There is some truth to this. When you have a higher number of subscribers it is easier to get even more. That is why some users try to use methods like Sub4Sub to improve their numbers.

Sub4Sub, or ‘sub for sub’, is the practice of subscribing to somebody else’s channel in exchange for them subscribing to yours. Whether Sub4Sub works is debatable, but it is fairly popular. YouTubers often send messages to other YouTubers asking if they would like to sub for sub, and there are even off-YouTube sites devoted to connecting YouTubers so they can subscribe to each other. A lot of vloggers do not believe in Sub4Sub, though. This is because they doubt whether subscribers gained this way actually help them get more views on their videos.

This article will explain the pros and cons of Sub4Sub.

Does YouTube Sub4Sub Work

1. Does Sub4Sub Work?

The technical answer is ‘yes’. You can get new subscribers quickly using sub for sub and it is in no way against YouTube’s rules. On the other hand, subscribers gained through sub for sub do not watch or share your videos. Users end up with more subscribers, but their channels do not truly grow.

2. Pros of Sub4Sub

A big part of doing well on YouTube is being engaged in your vlogging community. If a YouTuber with a similar topic to yours approaches you with a Sub4Sub request and you engage them in a conversation it could be the beginning of a great friendship. Beyond subscribing to each other you can share tips, comment on each other’s videos, and maybe even collaborate on a video someday.

Sub4Sub can also help some YouTubers with their confidence. It can be discouraging not to see any growth and being embarrassed over their low subscriber counts can result in vloggers deciding to hide that information. They may feel like their content is being judged badly by people who are not even watching their videos based on how few subscribers they have. Building up a higher number using Sub4Sub may allow some YouTubers to move past these concerns and get back to focusing on making good videos.

3. Cons of Sub4Sub

The reality is that if people are pre-judging your videos based on your stats it is not subscribers they are looking at so much as views. Sub4Sub helps you get subscribers, but in most cases those subscribers will never watch any of your videos. They will also never share them or tell their friends to watch them, the way subscribers gained organically will. So while your subscriber count goes up, your view count stays low.

The situation described in the Pros section, where you talk to each other and comment on each other’s videos, is rare. You are more likely to make friends with other YouTubers after you have already watched each other’s videos or after chatting in a forum. It is worth trying to engage a vlogger with a similar topic to yours if they ask you to sub for sub, but most people who ask will have no intention of interacting with you beyond subscribing to each other. Realistically if you are going to use sub for sub to increase your subscriber count by any significant number you will not have time to have actual conversations with everyone you approach, or to watch their videos.

When you agree to exchange subscriptions with somebody there is also the danger that they will decide to unsubscribe from your channel afterwards. This could happen much later when they realize they do not want to be subscribed to so many people and have forgotten which channels were parts of Sub4Sub agreements. Or it could happen within weeks, days, or even hours of you subscribing to them. There are some dishonest YouTubers who use sub for sub to get subscribers while already planning to unsubscribe to anybody who agrees. Their hope is that the other person will not notice or will not bother unsubscribing from them if they do.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Sometimes YouTubers with smaller channels feel like their small subscriber counts are holding them back. There is some truth to this. When you have a higher number of subscribers it is easier to get even more. That is why some users try to use methods like Sub4Sub to improve their numbers.

Sub4Sub, or ‘sub for sub’, is the practice of subscribing to somebody else’s channel in exchange for them subscribing to yours. Whether Sub4Sub works is debatable, but it is fairly popular. YouTubers often send messages to other YouTubers asking if they would like to sub for sub, and there are even off-YouTube sites devoted to connecting YouTubers so they can subscribe to each other. A lot of vloggers do not believe in Sub4Sub, though. This is because they doubt whether subscribers gained this way actually help them get more views on their videos.

This article will explain the pros and cons of Sub4Sub.

Does YouTube Sub4Sub Work

1. Does Sub4Sub Work?

The technical answer is ‘yes’. You can get new subscribers quickly using sub for sub and it is in no way against YouTube’s rules. On the other hand, subscribers gained through sub for sub do not watch or share your videos. Users end up with more subscribers, but their channels do not truly grow.

2. Pros of Sub4Sub

A big part of doing well on YouTube is being engaged in your vlogging community. If a YouTuber with a similar topic to yours approaches you with a Sub4Sub request and you engage them in a conversation it could be the beginning of a great friendship. Beyond subscribing to each other you can share tips, comment on each other’s videos, and maybe even collaborate on a video someday.

Sub4Sub can also help some YouTubers with their confidence. It can be discouraging not to see any growth and being embarrassed over their low subscriber counts can result in vloggers deciding to hide that information. They may feel like their content is being judged badly by people who are not even watching their videos based on how few subscribers they have. Building up a higher number using Sub4Sub may allow some YouTubers to move past these concerns and get back to focusing on making good videos.

3. Cons of Sub4Sub

The reality is that if people are pre-judging your videos based on your stats it is not subscribers they are looking at so much as views. Sub4Sub helps you get subscribers, but in most cases those subscribers will never watch any of your videos. They will also never share them or tell their friends to watch them, the way subscribers gained organically will. So while your subscriber count goes up, your view count stays low.

The situation described in the Pros section, where you talk to each other and comment on each other’s videos, is rare. You are more likely to make friends with other YouTubers after you have already watched each other’s videos or after chatting in a forum. It is worth trying to engage a vlogger with a similar topic to yours if they ask you to sub for sub, but most people who ask will have no intention of interacting with you beyond subscribing to each other. Realistically if you are going to use sub for sub to increase your subscriber count by any significant number you will not have time to have actual conversations with everyone you approach, or to watch their videos.

When you agree to exchange subscriptions with somebody there is also the danger that they will decide to unsubscribe from your channel afterwards. This could happen much later when they realize they do not want to be subscribed to so many people and have forgotten which channels were parts of Sub4Sub agreements. Or it could happen within weeks, days, or even hours of you subscribing to them. There are some dishonest YouTubers who use sub for sub to get subscribers while already planning to unsubscribe to anybody who agrees. Their hope is that the other person will not notice or will not bother unsubscribing from them if they do.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Sometimes YouTubers with smaller channels feel like their small subscriber counts are holding them back. There is some truth to this. When you have a higher number of subscribers it is easier to get even more. That is why some users try to use methods like Sub4Sub to improve their numbers.

Sub4Sub, or ‘sub for sub’, is the practice of subscribing to somebody else’s channel in exchange for them subscribing to yours. Whether Sub4Sub works is debatable, but it is fairly popular. YouTubers often send messages to other YouTubers asking if they would like to sub for sub, and there are even off-YouTube sites devoted to connecting YouTubers so they can subscribe to each other. A lot of vloggers do not believe in Sub4Sub, though. This is because they doubt whether subscribers gained this way actually help them get more views on their videos.

This article will explain the pros and cons of Sub4Sub.

Does YouTube Sub4Sub Work

1. Does Sub4Sub Work?

The technical answer is ‘yes’. You can get new subscribers quickly using sub for sub and it is in no way against YouTube’s rules. On the other hand, subscribers gained through sub for sub do not watch or share your videos. Users end up with more subscribers, but their channels do not truly grow.

2. Pros of Sub4Sub

A big part of doing well on YouTube is being engaged in your vlogging community. If a YouTuber with a similar topic to yours approaches you with a Sub4Sub request and you engage them in a conversation it could be the beginning of a great friendship. Beyond subscribing to each other you can share tips, comment on each other’s videos, and maybe even collaborate on a video someday.

Sub4Sub can also help some YouTubers with their confidence. It can be discouraging not to see any growth and being embarrassed over their low subscriber counts can result in vloggers deciding to hide that information. They may feel like their content is being judged badly by people who are not even watching their videos based on how few subscribers they have. Building up a higher number using Sub4Sub may allow some YouTubers to move past these concerns and get back to focusing on making good videos.

3. Cons of Sub4Sub

The reality is that if people are pre-judging your videos based on your stats it is not subscribers they are looking at so much as views. Sub4Sub helps you get subscribers, but in most cases those subscribers will never watch any of your videos. They will also never share them or tell their friends to watch them, the way subscribers gained organically will. So while your subscriber count goes up, your view count stays low.

The situation described in the Pros section, where you talk to each other and comment on each other’s videos, is rare. You are more likely to make friends with other YouTubers after you have already watched each other’s videos or after chatting in a forum. It is worth trying to engage a vlogger with a similar topic to yours if they ask you to sub for sub, but most people who ask will have no intention of interacting with you beyond subscribing to each other. Realistically if you are going to use sub for sub to increase your subscriber count by any significant number you will not have time to have actual conversations with everyone you approach, or to watch their videos.

When you agree to exchange subscriptions with somebody there is also the danger that they will decide to unsubscribe from your channel afterwards. This could happen much later when they realize they do not want to be subscribed to so many people and have forgotten which channels were parts of Sub4Sub agreements. Or it could happen within weeks, days, or even hours of you subscribing to them. There are some dishonest YouTubers who use sub for sub to get subscribers while already planning to unsubscribe to anybody who agrees. Their hope is that the other person will not notice or will not bother unsubscribing from them if they do.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

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