How can I promote my YouTube channel without spamming or annoying people?

[David Zajac]

I've had a YouTube channel for awhile, and want to get my channel more noticed by a larger group of people. I am willing to do a lot of work on my channel, because I know good quality is the key to success, but I need a way for people to discover my channel without advertising in comment sections, spamming inbox's, etc. I don't want to do that because it is annoying and is taking advantage of people, which I do not want to do. I would rather have 10 subscribers that actually watch my content, than 50 subscribers who watch the first minute of my videos or are not involved at all. Any advice?

My YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/DiscoDaveGaming

[YeOldSWAT]

Go on Omegle http://www.omegle.com and make friends with someone, then tell them about your channel. Works also with Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

[John Z Wetmore]

When you comment on YouTube videos, talk about the video you are watching, not your own videos. If people find your comment interesting, they will decide to check you out, and they will see what your videos are when they do. No one is annoyed, and it will get more people to check out your channel than spam comments will. (I find this is very effective when I comment on videos that do not already have tons of comments -- my comment is more likely to get the producer's attention.)

When you participate in online forums, etc., the key to avoid being thought of as a spammer is to give more than you take. So make ten thoughtful and incisive comments for every comment that plugs your videos. And when you do plug your videos, have it be a reasonable part of a conversation, rather than just something out of the blue.

If your online profile includes links to your channel, when people check out who is the thoughtful person making good comments, they will discover that you have a channel and maybe check it out. If you have a consistent online profile -- name, avatar, etc. -- across all your social media sites, you will create a personal "brand" which will help people identify you with your YouTube channel.

I put information about my channel down in my email signature along with other info. That is typically considered to be acceptable information to have down there, unlike similar information in the body of the email which would be considered spam.