How to grow a YouTube channel with free downloads
In short
Give viewers the thing your video shows: the preset, template, project file or pack. Put it behind a subscribe, mention it in the video where you use it, and put the link at the top of the description and in a pinned comment. One link per video shows which videos bring subscribers.
Why free downloads grow channels
Most viewers watch one video and leave. A viewer who wants the file you used in that video has a reason to do one more thing for you, right then. A subscribe costs them one click, and makes the next video show up in their feed.
What to give away
- Editors and colorists: LUTs, presets, transitions, project files.
- Designers: templates, mockups, brushes, fonts you are allowed to share.
- Music producers: the drum kit, stems or project from the beat video.
- Gamers and modders: configs, maps, mods, scripts and resource packs.
- Educators: the cheat sheet, the slides or the code from the tutorial.
The best freebie is the exact thing the video is about. A general "free pack" converts less than "the LUT from this video".
Where to put the link
Say it in the video
At the moment you use the file, not only at the end: "this preset is free, link in the description".
Top of the description
In the first two lines, so it shows before "more". Say what is behind it.
Pinned comment
The same link, pinned. Many viewers read comments before the description.
Community posts and Shorts
A Short that shows the result, pointing to the full video and the download.
Keep the ask small
A subscribe plus one more step, like a like on the video or a Discord join, is plenty. Every extra step loses people. Bypass protection blocks the scripts and extensions that try to skip the steps.
See which videos work
Make a separate link per video. Your link stats show views, unlocks and the conversion rate for each, so you can see which topics bring subscribers and make more of those. For the setup itself, see subscribe to unlock links.
Questions
How many steps should I ask for?
A subscribe and at most one more. Two steps keep most viewers; every step after that loses some. See choosing the right actions in the help center.
Do viewers need an account?
No. They subscribe on YouTube and get the file, without signing up for anything.