There’s no excuse for Congress’s delay in fixing this invitation to political trouble.
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Whether you run a YouTube channel, blog, or social media empire, it pays to know how many subscribers you have on each platform. Not only do subscriber counts show you which channels are working and which aren’t, but you can also leverage them to build stronger and more profitable partnerships with brands.
Checking your subscriber count isn’t always easy, though. For every platform like YouTube that makes your following incredibly transparent, there’s a channel where it can be next to impossible to find your subscriber count.
Notice I said “next to impossible,” not “totally impossible.”
I’m here to explain how you can check your subscriber count on every major channel and social media platform.
It’s vital to know exactly how many subscribers you have on each platform for several reasons.
Let’s say you’re an up-and-coming marketing influencer. Part of your income will come from brands paying you for sponsorships and endorsements. Exactly how much they pay you hinges on how many subscribers and followers you have.
If you can show 50,000 people subscribe to your podcast, 100,000 people read your blog each month, and almost half a million people follow you on Instagram, you’ll be in a very strong position to command a big payday.
Your subscriber count can also help you make decisions on your way to becoming an influencer or growing your business’ following in general. Imagine you created accounts on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Pinterest when you started your business and posted to all of them equally.
At some point, you need to focus your efforts on the platform where you see the most success. Your subscriber count is a great way to quickly separate the good social media platforms from the ineffective ones. After all, what’s the point of wasting time on Pinterest, where you have half a dozen followers, over Twitter, where you have several thousand?
It’s not just social media subscribers you should think about, though. Perhaps you have a blog that gets upwards of 100,000 visitors every month, but you only have a couple of hundred people on your email list. This indicates your email marketing strategy isn’t working, and you should take steps to change that.
YouTube is one of the more transparent subscription-based platforms out there. Log in to your account, click on your profile photo, and head to your channel. You’ll see your subscriber count underneath your channel’s username.
You can also see your subscriber count by navigating to YouTube Studio. In addition to the overall numbers, you can find a list of your 100 most recent subscribers.
Visitors to your channel see a shortened version of your subscriber count rounded down to the nearest 10, 100, or 1000 subscribers. YouTube Studio provides a handy table showing how your subscriber count will be displayed to viewers.
YouTube also notifies you within YouTube Studio and via email when you hit certain subscriber milestones.
Podcast success goes way beyond subscriber count, but the metric many podcasters want most is how many people subscribe to their podcast. This is often the hardest number to find.
Part of the problem is consumers can use dozens of different podcast apps to subscribe to shows rather than a single platform like YouTube. That means your podcast subscriber count will only ever be an estimate.
Most podcasting platforms, from the free to the pricey ones, provide some way to check your subscriber count. The method (and accuracy) varies by platform. The platform, however, should make it clear how to find this number. It’s usually to the side of where you post your podcast to begin with.
Some podcasting apps release subscriber numbers, though. You can end up with a bit more accuracy this way, but it takes more legwork on your part.
A couple of these are Podcast Addict and Castbox, though both account for about two percent of the market. Multiplying either subscriber count by 50 could give you a vague idea of how many subscribers you have in total, but it won’t give you the full picture.
A final suggestion from The Podcast Host is to publish a new episode and hold back from promoting it on social media, email, or anywhere else. In theory, any downloads occurring within about 24 hours of your show being posted are automatic downloads from subscribers; so if you have 50 downloads within a day of posting your episode, you likely have around 50 subscribers.
Most social media platforms make your number of subscribers readily available, so finding them is simply a matter of knowing where to look.
Here’s how you can find your subscribers on all of the major social media platforms.
How you check your follower count on Facebook will depend on whether you have a private user account or a business page.
Private users can allow people to follow them by turning on public posts and allowing people who aren’t their friends to follow them. This is an excellent option for bloggers and public figures who don’t want to have a private and a business Facebook account.
If this is you, head to the “Friends” tab on your profile page and click the “Followers” sub-tab. This will show you a full list of followers. You can see the total figure even faster by reading the “Intro” section on your profile page.
Facebook Business Page owners will need to navigate to their page, click on the “More” tab and then “Community” in the dropdown menu. Here you can find your total follower count, what your followers have posted on your page, and any posts where your business page was tagged.
Instagram puts your number of followers front and center. At the top of your profile, you can see how many people you’re following and how many people follow you. Once you get over 10,000 followers, the number will be rounded down to the nearest 100 or 1000 followers.
If you want to get an exact subscriber count, use Instagram’s Insights tool. Navigate to that section on the app and click on “Audience” to see an exact follower count and a growth comparison with the previous week.
If you have fewer than 10,000 followers on Twitter, you can see exactly how many people follow you by looking at your profile page. If your follower count is higher than that, Twitter rounds the nearest one hundred followers.
To find the exact subscriber count on Twitter, head to the Analytics section and hover your mouse over the subscriber number in the top right-hand corner. An exact count will appear.
The only way to see your subscriber count on Snapchat is to have a Public Profile. Not only will you be able to see your subscriber count on the back-end of the platform, but you’ll also have the option to display your follower count publicly.
You need a Pro account to check your subscriber count on TikTok. With this kind of account set up, head to the “Settings” menu and click on “Analytics.” This shows a graph with how many video views you received over the last 28 days and how many followers you have.
Note: You need to wait seven days after creating a TikTok Pro account before analytics data becomes available.
When I talk about subscribers on LinkedIn, I don’t mean the number of connections you have. I’m talking about the number of followers you have.
To see how many followers you have, sign into your account and scroll down to find the “Activity” section. There you can see your exact number of followers.
Track your Pinterest subscriber count on your Analytics dashboard. In addition to your follower count, you can see engagement metrics, popular pins by your fans, referral traffic, other top influencers, and competitor data.
People don’t subscribe to blogs in the same way they subscribe to YouTube channels or podcasts. That makes coming up with a subscriber number a little trickier. Here’s what you can do to estimate your subscribers.
Having an email newsletter is probably the best way to gauge how many people “subscribe” to your blog. However, you need to ask people to enter their email addresses without giving them anything other than your updates in return, as Ahrefs does, for example.
If you offer them something like a discount on a product you sell, you can’t prove they actually read your blog every week—they may immediately stop reading after they get their discount.
Checking your blog subscriber count can be as simple as opening up your email marketing platform and seeing how many people you have on your email marketing list.
If you don’t think your email list accurately depicts your subscriber numbers, you can use a Google Analytics report to estimate the subscribers you have. Navigate to the “Audience” tab, click on the “Behavior” dropdown menu, and choose “New vs Returning.”
This will give you a chart that separates new users from returning visitors. I’d recommend taking the data over the last 30 days to get an accurate idea of your subscriber count.
Your subscriber count is certainly worth knowing, but it isn’t the end-all, be-all. Measuring the engagement on your website, YouTube, and social channels is also an effective way to show brands and other potential partners how valuable your following is.
It’s also a great way for you to determine which social media accounts are worth your time.
If you’re still feeling a bit stuck, whether with subscribers or engagement, that’s okay—there are a lot of metrics to take into consideration. For some extra help, check out my guide on how to make social media marketing work for you.
On which platform do you have the most subscribers?
Most people only think of loans when they think about funding a business. Financing is for sure the most common way to do it, but not all financing comes in the form a traditional term loan. Furthermore, there are options that are not even considered financing because you do not have to repay the funds. The truth is, small business fundraising may not look the way you expect it to.
Small business fundraising can include loans, but it can also include investors, grants, and more. Beyond that, if you do go with financing of some sort, there are other options out there besides traditional banks and credit unions.
Demolish your funding problems with 27 killer ways to get cash for your business.
When you think of loans you probably think of traditional loans. These are the most popular, but they are not an option for everyone. There are other types as well.
These are loans from traditional banks and credit unions. As a business, your business credit score can help you get some types of funds even if your personal score isn’t awesome. That isn’t necessarily the case with this type of lending however.
With a traditional lender term loan, you are almost always going to have to give a personal guarantee. This means, personal credit will likely weigh heavy on their decision. If your personal credit score isn’t in order, you’ll probably have trouble.
How high does your credit score have to be? Typically, if you have at least a 750 you are in pretty good shape. Sometimes you can get approval with a score of 700+, but the terms will not be as favorable.
If you have awesome business credit, your lender might be more flexible. However, your personal credit score will still play a large role when it comes to terms and interest rate.
These are the most popular choice for small business fundraising because they typically have the best rates and terms. However, they are also the hardest to get.
SBA loans are traditional bank loans, but they have a guarantee from the federal government. The Small Business Administration, works with lenders to offer small businesses financing solutions that owners may not be eligible for based on their own credit history. Because the government is offering a guarantee, lenders are able to be more flexible when it comes to the owner’s personal credit score.
In fact, it is possible to get an SBA microloan with a personal credit score between 620 and 640. These are very small loans, up to $50,000. They may also require personal collateral.
The trade-off with SBA loans is that the application process is lengthy. There is a ton of paperwork connected with these types of loans.
Here are some of the most popular SBA loan programs.
These are federally funded term loans up to $5 million. The funds can be used for expansion, purchasing equipment, working capital and more. Banks, credit unions, and other specialized institutions in partnership with the SBA process these loans and disburse the funds.
This is by far the most popular of the SBA loan programs, and the funds are available for a broad range of projects, from working capital to refinancing debt, and even buying a new business or real estate.
These loans are also available up to $5 million. Funds can buy machinery, facilities, or land. They are generally used for expansion, and private sector lenders or nonprofits process and disburse the money. They work well for commercial real estate purchases especially.
Microloans are available in amounts up to $50,000. They work for starting a business, purchasing equipment, buying inventory, or for working capital. Community based nonprofits handle the administration of these programs as intermediaries. Unlike most other SBA loan programs, financing comes directly from the Small Business Administration.
Demolish your funding problems with 27 killer ways to get cash for your business.
These loans max out at $350,000. The turnaround for express loans is much faster, with the SBA taking up to 36 hours to give a decision. The application process is shorter also.
There are 4 distinct CAPline programs. The main difference between each is the types of expenses they can fund. Each of them carries a maximum amount of $5 million and an interest rate that ranges from 7% to 10%. Funding can take 45 to 90 days.
The four different programs are:
Financing for businesses preparing for a seasonal increase in sales.
Financing for businesses that need funding to fill a contract.
Financing for businesses taking on a real estate or construction project.
Financing for businesses that are struggling with a short-term slump in sales.
This is a pilot program set to either expire or extend in 2020. It’s designed to promote economic growth in underserved areas and markets. Those that make decisions about debt approval look over factors such as poor credit or low revenue if the business has the potential to stimulate the economy or create jobs in underserved areas.
These are loans from lenders other than traditional banks and credit unions that offer terms loans. Usually they operate online. The difference between these and traditional lenders is that the loans have looser approval requirements and a much faster application process. Most often you can simply apply online, get approval in as little as 24 hours, and the funds are in your account within 24 to 48 hours after approval. Here are just a few options for this type of small business fundraising.
If you are looking for a low APR, go with Funding Circle. They have fixed rate term loans and require a credit score of 620 or above. There is no minimum revenue requirement. However, they do require you to be in business for at least 2 years.
OnDeck offers lines of credit and term loans with fixed interest rates. You can get up to $500,000 with a term loan. The minimum FICO they require is 600. In addition, you must have $100,000 minimum annual revenue and be in business for at least one year.
With a large selection of financing products that includes term loans, Rapid Finance can be a great option for larger amounts. In addition to term loans, they offer bridge loans, healthcare cash advances, and lines of credit. Terms are from three to six months. Amounts range from $5,000 to $1,000,000. Unfortunately, they do not make their minimum credit score readily available. Still, you can use their quote tool. It will give you an idea of what you qualify for.
StreetShares offers invoice financing, term loans, and lines of credit. There is only a one year time in business requirement. Also, they require less minimum annual revenue than the others at only $25,000. The minimum credit score is 600.
In addition to term loans, there are other types of financing available for small business fundraising.
This is basically the traditional lender’s version of a business credit card. The credit is revolving. That means you only pay back what you use, just like a credit card. Rates are typically much better than a credit card however. The application and approval process is more similar to that of a traditional term loan than a credit card.
If you need revolving credit and can qualify for a term loan, this is the best of the available business money types for you. It is great for bridging cash gaps and covering short term expenses without the high credit card interest rates.
Unlike credit cards, there are no cash back rewards or loyalty points with a line of credit. As a result, some business owners prefer business credit cards despite typically higher rates.
If you are an established business with accounts receivable, you have invoice factoring as an option. This is where the lender buys your outstanding invoices at a premium, and then collects the full amount themselves. You get cash right away, without waiting for your customers to pay the invoices.
This is a good option if you need cash fast, or if you do not qualify for other types of funds. The interest rate varies based on hold old the invoices are. A merchant cash advance is a similar option, in which a lender lends cash based on average daily credit card sales. Repayment is made daily credit card sales as well.
Crowdfunding is a newer option for finding investors. While the average Joe that wants to start a business needs funding, it is not always possible to find one or two large investors. With crowdfunding, you can literally have a “crowd” of investors fund your business $5 and $10 at the time.
There are many crowdfunding sites, but the most popular are Kickstarter and Indiegogo. The platforms are similar but there are some important differences. The most obvious is the timing of when you actually receive the funds that others invest in your company.
Kickstarter requires a preset goal, and you do not receive your funds until you reach your goal. For example, if you set a goal of $20,000 when you start your campaign, you will not receive any money that investors offer up until you reach that $20,000.
Indiegogo also requires a goal. In contrast to Kickstarter, they offer the option to receive funds as you go if you prefer. They also have an option called InDemand. This program allows you to continue raising funds after your original campaign is over without starting a whole new campaign. It is more of an extension of the first one.
There are other crowdfunding sites out there as well. Different ones work better for certain businesses and vendors. To determine which one you might have the most luck with, you will need to do some research. Keep in mind your type of business and the specific business each one appeals too.
These are informal investors that generally invest at the start of a company. They typically receive equity in exchange.
Demolish your funding problems with 27 killer ways to get cash for your business.
Angel investing is risky. If a startup fails early on, investors will lose their investments completely. As a result, professionals will look for a defined exit strategy, acquisitions, or initial public offerings (IPOs).
The best way to find angel investors is to ask around. You can also try an angel investors website or network.
While grants are less commonly available than other options, they are more common that you probably think. Typically, they are offered by professional organizations. There are some government grants available also. There is stiff competition, but they are definitely worth a shot if you think you may qualify.
While requirements vary from grant to grant, and most are only awarded to a certain number of recipients, they are definitely worth exploring. This is especially true if you fall into one of these basic categories.
There are also some corporations that offer grants in a contest format that do not require much other than that you meet the corporation’s definition of a small business and win the contest.
When you need to think about small business fundraising, be sure to consider all your options. It may be that traditional loans will work best for you, but that may not be the case at all. Even if you do qualify for loans, why not consider grants and investors as well. It’s free money. Any money you can get that will reduce the amount of debt you have to take on is a good thing.
If you want to expand your opportunities even further, work on the overall fundability of your business. There are things affecting it that you probably don’t even realize can make a difference. There is a lot more to it than just your credit score.
How you set up your business, your business phone number, and even past speeding tickets can indirectly affect fundability. If you work to reduce negative impact and increase positive impact on fundability, you can open the door to even more small business fundraising opportunities.
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