youtube watch time software free download | 4000 watch hours youtube

 If you're reading this, you probably know that getting 4,000 hours of views is an important checkpoint on the road to YouTube monetization. It's not easy, and many creators spend a year or more getting there, but it's ultimately worth it. Achieving this goal means you can monetize your videos with ads through the YouTube Partner Program, which is like making money in your sleep. This is an easy way to increase your income!

Understanding watch time on YouTube

But first, what is watch time, and how is it calculated on YouTube?

View time is the total amount of time people spend watching a video. Each YouTube video counts watch time, which contributes to your channel's total.

For your viewing time to count towards monetization, you must achieve 4,000 hours of viewing in 12 consecutive months. Videos do not need to be published within the last 12 months, as long as viewers have watched them in the last year.

Do You Need 4,000 Hours to Join the YPP?

Notably, you don't need 4,000 hours to get into the YPP. You can do that with just 3,000 hours and then monetize your videos through fan funding instead of ads. These include Super Chats, Super Thanks, channel memberships, and more. Below are the minimum requirements to join the YPP, but remember that you'll still need 4,000 hours to earn ad revenue.

Finding Your Channel's Watch Time

So, how many watch hours have you collected so far? Knowing this number is extremely helpful, especially when building a strategy to keep viewers' attention.

1. Go to the YouTube Studio and click Earn in the left navigation bar.

2. On the Become a Partner page, scroll down to How to Join. And there, you'll see how much watch time your channel has.

How to Get More Watch Time on YouTube: 9 Powerful Tips

Now that you know where you stand, use these powerful tips to increase your watch time on YouTube.

1. Master the art of YouTube storytelling.

Telling a good story is crucial to keeping viewers engaged and thus increasing your watch times on YouTube. In every video, you want to capture the viewer's attention, take them on a journey, and create emotional scenes that draw them in along the way.

To do this effectively, master three areas of YouTube storytelling:

Youtube Watch time and views increase Software Free download

• Title and Thumbnail (convince people to click)
• Video introduction (encourage people to keep watching)
• Emotional connection (keep the audience engaged in the story)

Titles and Thumbnails

Your title and thumbnail are two sides of the same coin. They should give viewers a snapshot of what the video is about and what it will feel like to watch it. 

Video Introductions

The best introductions get straight to the point by mentioning what viewers care about in the first three seconds. If you're struggling to come up with hooks, study the best–performing YouTube Shorts and the introductions they have. Introductory phrases like "They don't want you to know this secret" or "I never do this, and here's why" are effective curiosity drivers.

Emotional Triggers

Emotion makes your content 10 times more relatable. Try using emotional triggers like fear, nostalgia, novelty, and scarcity to make your videos seem urgent and relevant to the viewer's life.

2. Increase Engagement with Pattern Interrupters

A good story may pique viewers' interest, but knowing how to edit that story is the real watch-time booster.

Pattern interrupters are your secret weapon for this. They turn a good video into a great one by adding variety to what's already there. On YouTube, a pattern interrupter is any visual or auditory element that changes someone's thought pattern. I should leave this video is one thought you want to interrupt in a viewer's mind!

Some examples of pattern interrupts include:

• Shifting camera angles
• Graphics or images
• Changes in music
• Occasional text
• Scene changes
• Sound effects
• Jump cuts
• B-roll

4. Skip the Basic Outro

Filming a long outro feels natural, but did you know there are better ways to close out a video? Most viewers click away when they hear goodbye phrases, such as:

"And that's about it!"

"Those are all of my tips for..."

"If you liked this video, then…"

Instead of announcing the end of a video, leave before anyone knows what's happening. Your watch time will improve when you don't signal that a video is ending.

5. Make Evergreen YouTube Videos

Evergreen content is popular year-round, so you need those types of videos to get watch time fast. Evergreen topics like how to change careers, how to cook brown rice, and tips for making friends in your 30s have a high search volume from January to December.

As you can see, many evergreen videos are search-based and offer steady watch time through sheer popularity.

If you're struggling to find evergreen video ideas, ask yourself a question:

What do my viewers care about more than anything else?

For example, vidq subscribers love to hear growth tips for small channels. One of our videos on the subject has over 78,000 watch hours since it was published six months ago. And the hours are still increasing!

6. Host YouTube Live Streams

Watch time from streaming will always count toward your 4,000-hour goal, so bond with viewers in real time. It's the perfect way to rack up those monetization hours!

When we started our live stream journey, 50-100 people showed up. Now we get hundreds of concurrent viewers, and with that boost in viewership comes plenty of additional watch time.

For example, check out the watch time from this two-hour live stream:

Give streaming a chance when you have about 12 months of YouTube experience. By then you should have 100 or more subscribers who may show up to watch your streams.