Getting people to watch your videos is one thing, but the true power lies in turning that audience into a fandom. It’s no easy feat. It needs more than just making awesome content. It requires genuine connection. So, let’s break down how you build it.
The Basics of Turning Your Audience Into a Fandom
There are a couple of things you need to keep in mind when you want to make your viewers genuinely want to watch your channel and follow you. It’s all about building trust and engaging your community. Here are the key principles:
Engagement and Community
The basics of any fanbase is constantly talking with your fans. As a content creator, if you need your viewers to care about you, you need to establish that connection and reach out first.
That means replying to comments, pinning comments that you think look the most interesting. If the audience sees that you care for them, they will care for you in turn.
Use Post Tab (ex. Community Tab) and social media. That way, you can share a little behind-the-scenes snippets, post updates, and establish a direct communication link with your viewers. Many creators underestimate the Community Tab tool, but it’s very versatile in its uses.
On a similar note - Q&A streaming sessions. These allow you to communicate with your audience in real time and make your genuine personality shine through so your audience can fall even deeper in love with you as a person.
It's not enough to just have an audience; they need to feel like they're part of something bigger. Building a sense of community does just that.
Experiment with Content Strategies
Let’s just say that there are fans that just don’t engage with content in the same way. Each format (be it Shorts, longer videos, streams) attracts a different and unique set of people. So why not experiment with formats? If you really want to maximize your reach, use all available tools at your disposal.
Shorts can be used to get people’s attention on your content. That’s the place you can tap into trends, make cool transitions, or show little behind-the-scenes moments.
- Vlogs can be used to shine light on your personality
- Q&A - to connect with the viewers on a deeper level
- Сollabs - how you interact with other people (which can be an interesting selling point as well).
Experiment and branch out, but don’t be discouraged if something doesn’t perform the way you’d hoped. Not everything performs the same way and it’s okay. Just keep an eye on your YouTube Analytics to see what works better and what needs to be worked on.
Tap into Different Language Regions
Translate your content and spread it in different regions! Remember, not every single person in the world (much less on YouTube) knows English. But even then, you can find people who might be interested in what you have to say. And who knows? Those people could transform into your loyal fans as well.
The numbers don’t lie and the reality is this:
- English: 1.45 billion viewers · 12.2 million creators
- Hindi: 610 million viewers · 246K creators
- Spanish: 600 million viewers · 3.1 million creators
- Arabic: 380 million viewers · 1.9 million creators
While English is massive, the competition is fierce. The same goes for Spanish. But the less ‘creator-heavy’ regions could be a golden opportunity to gain loyal fans. And we’re here to help make it happen.
Identity
All successful fandoms need a name. Look at popular creators, and you’ll see strong, unique communities with names, inside jokes, and a shared language. Your fandom should feel like a tribe. There’s CaseOh with his ‘chat’, Logan Paul with his ‘lo-gang’, James Charles with ‘sisters’, and so much more. Clear identity develops a sense of belonging, it feels like an exclusive family.
How to Make YouTube Memberships Work for You
And speaking of exclusivity, that goes hand-in-hand with YouTube Memberships. This is a way for you to provide your fans with exclusive content, badges, and perks that makes them feel recognized and valued. That in itself strengthens the creator/audience relationship.
Here’s how to make it work for your channel:
Delivering Member-Only Content
Memberships shouldn’t just feel like a paid ‘add-on’. They should feel like something exclusive, premium material for fans. Use all the tools YouTube offers to make it that way: badges, custom emojis, early access to videos, members-only live streams, special videos for your members. It will create a feeling that members are receiving something they can’t get anywhere else or just wait to be released for free.
As an example, one of our partners OOHAMI, a Malasian gaming channel with over a million subs, decided to do just that. They turned on the Memberships feature to deliver exclusive perks for their sponsors. And after tweaking the feature just a little bit, it started bringing them over 30% of their overall revenue.
Tiered Memberships
Instead of just a single membership tier, consider offering multiple sponsored content levels.
Each level should come with increasingly valuable perks: it can vary between access to exclusive content, merchandise discounts, priority access to live events, etc. Make sure your fandom has something to aspire to.
In that way, one of our partners (Health and Fitness influencer) has created special sponsor-only workout routines packed with extra-tips, techniques, routines and tricks that you won’t find anywhere else. They also added special streams for sponsors and a separate members-only chat. The perks were aligned in Silver and Gold tier.
The results were better than anyone could have expected.
Within six months, our partner’s channel saw a 16x increase in monthly income from that feature alone. The number of active sponsors grew by 9x. That way, Memberships now account for almost 80% of their total revenue.
More Creators Who’ve Mastered the Fandom Game
Let’s look at YouTubers who have turned their massive audiences into full-fledged fandoms through community-building and Memberships.
Markiplier (Mark Fischbach)
Markiplier’s fandom has grown steadily because of his unique content style, which is a mix of gaming, comedy, and charity work. What sets him apart is his ability to create entertaining content out of dullest-looking games and events. He is very willing to look silly and vulnerable before his fans, which in itself builds deep connection with those who follow him.
How Memberships Work for Markiplier:
Markiplier takes full advantage of YouTube’s membership features by offering exclusive live streams, badges, and emotes to fans who support his channel through Memberships. But it’s his personal engagement with his fans in the membership area that makes all the difference. He’s known for actively engaging with the comments and showing appreciation for his fans’ support.
Kallmekris (Kristina Lee Halliwell Collins)
Known for her unique sense of humor, quirky personality, and wide range of content, Kallmekris has quickly become one of YouTube’s rising stars in recent years. What sets her apart is her ability to connect with her audience through her down-to-earth attitude. Watching her videos feels like talking to a friend at 3AM on a Saturday, which is why she has quite a bit of passionate fans.
How Memberships Work for KallMeKris:
KallMeKris uses YouTube Memberships in a way that allows her to deepen her relationship with her fanbase. She offers exclusive content, member-only livestreams and behind-the-scenes content.
Much like Markiplier, Kris actively talks with her sponsors. Whether she’s responding to comments or making personalized shoutouts during her live streams, her fans feel truly seen and valued.
Jacksepticeye (Sean McLoughlin)
Another great example of a pro at the fandom game is Jacksepticeye. Known for his energetic personality, he easily amassed a following from very early on in his career. But soon, through talking and engaging with his audience, he turned the casual viewers into a dedicated fanbase.
How Memberships Work for Jacksepticeye:
Jacksepticeye uses YouTube Memberships, offering exclusive content, early access to videos, custom badges, and emojis. What really sets his Membership strategy apart is his deep sense of community and his personal commitment to charity work, which is something his audience connects with on a deeper emotional level. His charity streams often feature members-only content, where donations go to good causes, which is why being a sponsor to his channel oftentimes feels like being a part of something bigger.
Turning your audience into a fandom isn’t about quick wins. It’s a long-term investment in relationships and community building. And YouTube Memberships are a great tool to monetize that loyalty, but only if you approach them with intent. Focus on creating real, emotional connections with your fans and they’ll stick around.
We’ve seen firsthand how creators who use Memberships effectively turn casual viewers into devoted fans. Ready to build your fandom and turn your audience into a community? Let’s get started.
