How to Promote an Indie Film Trailer on YouTube

Independent films rarely have a marketing budget, but YouTube rewards trailers that people click and watch to the end. These steps cost little and make the biggest difference.

Get the metadata right

• Title: Film Title | Official Trailer (Year)
• Description: one line about the story, then release date, platform and cast
• Tags: the film title, genre, lead actors and similar films

Add subtitles

Translated subtitles let YouTube show your trailer in more countries. French, German, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish cover a large part of the world audience.

Premiere on a bigger channel

Your channel is the home of the film, but a trailer channel brings the audience. MTubes publishes licensed trailers from studios and independent distributors and adds subtitles in seven languages. Submit your trailer.

Build momentum around it

Post the poster, a short clip and behind the scenes moments in the weeks after the trailer. Reply to the first comments, they help the video get recommended.

Can a small film trailer get views on YouTube?

Yes. Clear metadata, subtitles and a premiere on a channel with an existing audience give small films the same start as bigger releases.