The correct YouTube hack tin can be the difference between spending all afternoon or 15 minutes to consummate a chore.

But these tips optimize more than than just your time—they optimize your YouTube marketing efforts, also. From subscriber-boosting features to video-making tools, these hacks are engineered to aid you get the about out of the platform.

Bonus: Download the complimentary 30-24-hour interval plan to grow your YouTube post-obit fast , a daily workbook of challenges that will aid you kickstart your Youtube channel growth and track your success. Get real results after one month.

21 YouTube hacks, tips and features

ane. Navigate YouTube with keyboard shortcuts

Memorize these keyboard shortcuts to maneuver YouTube with ease and impress your coworkers.

Spacebar Play or pause a video
k Play or pause a video in role player
m Mute or unmute a video
Left and correct arrow Jump backward or forrard 5 seconds
j Bound backward ten seconds
l Jump frontwards 10 seconds
, When video is paused, skip to side by side frame
Up and downwards arrow Increase and decrease volume
> Speed up video playback rate.
< Slow down video playback rate.
i—9 Bound to the ten% to xc% of the video marker.
0 Go to the beginning of the video
/ Get to the search box
f Actuate full screen
c Activate closed captions

2. Create links that offset at specific times

There are occasions when it's necessary to skip an intro, preamble, or just bound to a relevant prune. When you'd like to share a link to a video that starts at a specific time, endeavor this YouTube hack.

How to do it:

  1. Click Share.
  2. Cheque the Start at box.
  3. Arrange the time.
  4. Copy the link.

YouTube links

Tip: If y'all can, put the fourth dimension a 2nd or ii before the actual showtime fourth dimension. That way people won't miss a thing.

3. Download the thumbnail image of the video

Need the thumbnail of a YouTube video for a newsletter or social mail service? Don't take a low-res screen capture. This workaround lets you save the thumbnail in loftier-res.

How to do it:

  1. Re-create the Video ID. It'due south the 11 characters that follows: youtube.com/watch?v=.
  2. Paste the VideoID here: img.youtube.com/vi/[VideoID]/maxresdefault.jpg
  3. Put the total link into your browser. Salve the image.

Here'due south how to add together a custom video thumbnail to your videos:

4. Create a GIF from a YouTube video

Do one better than an image with a GIF. GIFs get a lot of action on social media. Yous can utilize them to promote your YouTube channel or to deliver on-brand replies.

How to create a GIF from a YouTube video:

  1. Open up the video.
  2. Add the discussion "gif" before YouTube in the url. It should read: www.gifyoutube.com/[VideoID]
  3. Customize your GIF.

How to create a GIF from a YouTube video

5. See the transcript of a video

YouTube automatically creates transcripts for every video created on its platform. Not only does this feature make videos more accessible, information technology also makes pulling quotes and copy a lot easier.

How to meet the transcript of a YouTube video:

  1. From the video, click the iii-dot ellipsis beside Save.
  2. Select Open transcript.

YouTube video transcript

If you don't see it, the creator probable decided to hibernate the transcript. Keep in mind that many video creators don't edit their transcripts and so it might not be perfect.

6. Create a Branded YouTube URL

Ditch the unmemorable string of letters and numbers and add polish to your YouTube channel with a branded URL.

There are a few prerequisites. To exist able to create a custom slug, your channel needs to have at to the lowest degree 100 subscribers, a channel icon, and aqueduct art. Information technology also has to be more than than 30 days old.

Once yous've ticked those boxes, here'southward how to do it:

  1. Click your profile picture in the pinnacle right. Select Settings.
  2. Under Your YouTube Channel, click View avant-garde settings.
  3. Under Channel settings, select the link beside You're eligible for a custom URL.
  4. The Become a custom URL box volition list the custom URLs you've been approved for. You can't modify what appears in the gray box, and you may need to add messages or numbers to make it unique.
  5. Agree to the Custom URL Terms of Use and click click Change URL.

Hootsuite's YouTube URL

Starting from scratch? Learn how to create a YouTube channel for your brand.

7. Share an auto-subscribe link

Exercise yous have YouTube buttons or subscribe call-to-actions on your channels? If you do, chances are they link to your YouTube channel. That'due south cracking, but yous can practise one better.

Follow these steps to create a link that opens with an automated subscribe prompt:

  1. Find your channel ID or Custom URL. From your channel page, you lot'll find it here: https://www.youtube.com/user/[ChannelID]. For example, Hootsuite's is: Hootsuite.
  2. Paste your ID here: www.youtube.com/user/[ChannelID]?sub_confirmation=1.
  3. Use this link for your subscribe CTAs.

Hither's what information technology looks similar when someone clicks on the link:

Confirm channel subscription button on YouTube

Hither's how to get free YouTube subscribers—the real way.

viii. Create closed captions to improve accessibility and SEO

Closed captions or subtitles make your content bachelor to a larger audience. That includes viewers that are deafened or hard of hearing, or people watching the video with audio off. As a bonus, this also improves the search engine optimization ranking for your video.

There are ii means to go about this. Yous can either create subtitles or closed captions on YouTube, or upload a transcript file. We recommend that latter considering yous can save the file every bit you go and store it as a fill-in in case the video gets deleted by mistake.

Here's how to create subtitles or closed captions:

  1. Sign in to YouTube Studio.
  2. From the left carte du jour, select Subtitles.
  3. Click the video yous'd like to edit.
  4. Click Add Language and select your language.
  5. Under subtitles, select Add.
  6. Enter your captions as the video plays.

Hither's how to upload a transcript:

  1. Sign in to YouTube Studio.
  2. From the left menu, select Videos.
  3. Click on the title or thumbnail of a video.
  4. Select More options.
  5. Select Upload subtitles/cc.
  6. Choose betwixt With timing or Without timing. Select Continue.
  7. Upload your file.
  8. Select Relieve.

If yous go this route, you'll need to save your captions as a patently text file (.txt) to upload it to YouTube. Here are a few formatting tips, recommended by YouTube:

  • Use a bare line to force the offset of a new explanation.
  • Use foursquare brackets to designate groundwork sounds like [music] or [applause].
  • Add >> to identify speakers or modify of speaker.

youtube captions

9. Translate video titles and descriptions

Chances are your audience consists of viewers that speak multiple languages. It may not exist possible to translate all of your content, but translated titles and descriptions make your video more discoverable in a second linguistic communication. Plus, the small gesture tin can go a long way to prove that yous care.

You lot may already be able to gauge your audition's predominant languages. Or you may have no idea. In any instance, yous tin double bank check with YouTube Analytics. Look under Top subtitle/cc languages written report to larn what languages rank highest.

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Hither'due south how to add the translations to your YouTube videos:

  1. Sign in to YouTube Studio.
  2. From the left menu, select Subtitles.
  3. Select a video.
  4. If you oasis't selected the language for a video, you'll be asked to choose the language. Click Confirm.
  5. Select Add language and choose the language you'd like to interpret to.
  6. Nether Title & description, select Add.
  7. Enter the translated title and clarification. Printing Publish.

10. Add cards to your videos

Cards can make your video more than engaging and cantankerous-promote other content. Yous tin create cards with polls, or cards that link to other channels, videos or playlists, and other destinations.

Cards work best when they announced with calls to action. For example, if you mention your newsletter in the script, consider calculation a card at that moment.

How to add cards to your YouTube videos:

  1. Sign in to YouTube Studio.
  2. Select Videos from the left carte.
  3. Click the video you'd like to edit.
  4. Click the Cards box.
  5. Select Add carte. Then, select Create.
  6. Customize your card and click Create card.
  7. Arrange the time for the menu to appear below the video.

Tip: YouTube recommends video cards are placed inside the concluding 20% of a video. That's when viewers are probable looking for what to watch side by side.

11. Apply end screens to promote actress content

Get out some fourth dimension at the finish of your YouTube video for an end screen call-to-activeness.

Cease screens appear in the last 5-20 seconds of a video, and straight viewers to unlike destinations of your choice. You tin use them to encourage viewers to subscribe to your aqueduct, watch another video or playlist, visit another aqueduct, or an approved website.

How to practise information technology:

  1. Sign in to YouTube Studio.
  2. Open the Videos page and select a video.
  3. Select Editor from the left menu.
  4. Select Add an end screen.

Note: End screens and cards are not eligible on videos fabricated for kids. Linking to approved websites is currently simply available to members of the YouTube Partner Programme.

12. Add a custom subscribe button to videos

Want to grow aqueduct subscriptions? A subscribe push, also known as branding watermark, is a slick YouTube subscribers hack. With the push button, desktop viewers can direct subscribe to your channel, even if they're in full-screen.

Before you lot add a button, you'll need to create it. The foursquare epitome must be in PNG or GIF format, with a minimum of 150 X 150 pixels and maximum size of 1MB. YouTube recommends using one or two colours merely, and a transparent background.

How to do information technology:

  1. Sign in to YouTube Studio.
  2. Select Settings.
  3. Select Channel and then Branding.
  4. Select Choose image. Upload the image you lot'd like to utilize as your branding watermark.
  5. Select the brandish time for the branding watermark. You can choose the entire video, a custom fourth dimension, of the last 15 seconds of the video.
  6. Relieve changes.

xiii. Download royalty-gratuitous audio furnishings and music

If you haven't discovered YouTube'due south Audio Library yet, you're in for a treat.

The music library includes songs in only about every genre and mood. Among the audio furnishings you'll detect everything from express mirth tracks to an old engine sputter.

How to do it:

  1. Sign in to YouTube Studio.
  2. From the left menu, select Audio library.
  3. Choose Free music or Sound furnishings from the upper tabs.
  4. Preview tracks past clicking the Play icon.
  5. Click the arrow to download the rails you've chosen.

YouTube creator, Mystery Guitar Man (aka Joe Penna), offers some best practices for adding music.

fourteen. Blur objects or faces in your videos

Need to cover upward a logo or add an artistic issue? This hugger-mugger YouTube feature lets y'all add together a blur, whether the effigy is static or moving.

How to do information technology:

  1. Sign in to YouTube Studio.
  2. Select Videos.
  3. Click the video you'd like to edit.
  4. Select Editor.
  5. Click Add together Blur.
  6. Next to Custom blurring click Edit.
  7. Hover over the video and click Pause .
  8. Click and drag the box to adapt the mistiness.
  9. Click Done.
  10. Click Save.

Hither's how to blur faces:

  1. Sign in to YouTube Studio.
  2. Select Videos.
  3. Click the video you'd like to edit.
  4. Select Editor.
  5. Click Become Started.
  6. Click Add together Blur.
  7. Next to Blur faces click Edit.
  8. Once processing is consummate, click the thumbnails of the faces y'all'd like to mistiness.
  9. Click Relieve.
  10. Click Salvage once more.

xv. Go along viewers watching with playlists

Playlists allow viewers to have what YouTube describes as a "lean-back" experience. They have the guesswork out of video watching by automatically queuing a series of related videos into 1 solid list. And they make information technology easier for viewers to linger longer with your content.

As an added bonus, playlists also aid to sort content. Grouping videos by category, topic, theme, product, etc.

How to create a playlist:

  1. Find a video you want in the playlist.
  2. Nether the video, click Relieve .
  3. Click Create new playlist.
  4. Enter a playlist name.
  5. Click Create.

If yous're looking to grow your presence on YouTube, playlists tin exist a collaborative tool, too. Show some love to other creators past adding videos from another channel to your list. Or invite users to interact on the playlist.

How to add together collaborators to a playlist:

  1. Sign in to YouTube Studio.
  2. Select Playlists.
  3. Click Edit adjacent to the appropriate playlist.
  4. Beneath the playlist's title, click More .
  5. Select Collaborate .
  6. Slide on Collaborators can add videos to this playlist.
  7. Turn on Allow new collaborators.
  8. Copy the playlist link and share information technology with the people you want to interact with.

Here are a agglomeration of dissimilar ways to promote your YouTube channel.

16. Pin a annotate to the elevation of your feed

There are many reasons you may want to pin a comment—or a viewer's comment—to the top of your feed. Maybe you lot want to boost engagement with a question or phone call-to-activeness. If a lot of commenters are asking the same question, you may want to pin your response. If someone leaves a witty response or winning testimonial, show them some love with the pin treatment.

Here's how to pin a comment to the peak of your feed:

  1. Become to your Community tab.
  2. Select the comment you lot want to pin.
  3. Click More and then Pivot.

YouTube comment pinned

17. Create a blocked words list

As YouTube says, not all comments will be loftier quality. 1 feature you can use to ensure inappropriate linguistic communication does not appear on your feed is a blocked words list.

Add words or phrases that you practice not want associated with your folio, whether vulgar, controversial—or simply off topic.

How to create a blocked words list for YouTube comments:

  1. Sign in to YouTube Studio.
  2. Select Settings from the left menu, and then select Community.
  3. Scroll down to the Blocked Words field. Add the words or phrases you lot would similar blocked, separated by commas.

Comments that include blocked language will exist held for review before they are shown publicly.

xviii. Schedule a video to publish subsequently

If you accept a decorated content agenda, or simply don't want to bombard subscribers with a serial of videos, consider scheduling your posts in advance.

You tin can upload and schedule videos direct from the Hootsuite dashboard. Once you've added the video file and copy, information technology'due south equally simple as setting a engagement and fourth dimension. And you lot can edit your video up until the last infinitesimal.

Hither'due south how to schedule YouTube videos from Hootsuite (and YouTube).

19. Apply Google Trends for research and inspiration

Looking for a niggling keyword or content inspiration? Endeavour Google Trends.

Visit Google Trends and add a search word. Once you have your results, click the dropdown carte du jour that says WebSearch and select YouTube Search.

From there you tin can filter results past fourth dimension frame, geography, and subregion. Take a look at related topics and related queries to see similar searches people are making. This is a good way to find relevant keywords to improve organic search results and rank with YouTube's algorithm.

Desire to create a trending tutorial? If you lot run a food business, search "how to bake." Nether related queries y'all'll find people are searching how to bake plain cake, pre-cooked ham, sourdough bread amid other things. Search "interior design" and you lot'll see that farmhouse and minimalism are trending.

Google trends for "How to Bake"

20. Edit multiple videos at once

There are instances where you'll need to brand the aforementioned change to multiple videos. For instance, peradventure you'd like to add a specific tag that's all of a sudden trending. Or, maybe your account is beingness spammed and you'd like to hold potentially inappropriate comments for review.

Whatever the reason, YouTube allows creators to make majority edits on videos. Here's how to do it:

  1. Sign in to YouTube Studio.
  2. Select Videos.
  3. Check the boxes of the videos y'all plan to edit.
  4. Select Edit, and then choose the blazon of modify you'd like to make.
  5. When you are finished, select Update videos.

YouTube bulk edits

21. Go alive with a pre-recorded Premiere

YouTube live is a great mode to stage a virtual issue. But live streams can also entail bloopers and gaffs—or just not permit for the level of edited and production you're after.

Luckily, this YouTube hack provides a high-production workaround. YouTube Premieres allow y'all schedule a video so an audience tin scout it at the same time. Even live conversation is available. But unlike a live stream, content tin can be pre-recorded and edited every bit yous see fit.

How to practice information technology:

  1. Visit youtube.com/upload.
  2. Select your video to upload and fill in the video details.
  3. On the Preview & publish tab, select Set equally a Premiere.
  4. Choose between Start immediately and Schedule for a after date.
  5. Select Done to complete the upload procedure.

Once you've set your Premiere, a public scout page is created. As you stir up buzz promoting the premiere, share the link and encourage viewers to fix a reminder.

Ready for action? Here'southward how to go alive on YouTube.

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