DETROIT CITY FOOTBALL CLUB
YOUTUBE STRATEGY
I took over the Detroit City Football Club YouTube channel in January of 2023. In that time, I gained over 13,000 subscribers, 743,000 views, and ~$1,200 in YouTube ad revenue after meeting the monetization threshold.
Overall Stats
These are the overarching stats of my time at DCFC. These views account for 62% of all time views on the account between 2012-2025. These subscriber gains account for 76% of all subscribers gained from 2012-2025.
By August of 2025, DCFC YouTube numbers resembled those of a smaller MLS franchise, and overshadowed every single USL Championship club, as well as some NWSL clubs.
Thumbnail Design
Large bold text, and clear imagery is the mantra for my thumbnail design. Main goals were getting eyes on the product while also building lore through avenues such as place (stadium imagery, top left) or nickname integration (branded "rouge reel" series based off "Le Rouge" nickname).
Storytelling with Purpose
Telling the story means nothing if nobody is there to listen, and telling a story for a second division American soccer club means you have to encourage people to listen. My thumbnail design focused on the trends of the time to attract eyes, while maintaining a familiar look to what die-hard fans knew the club for.
Workflow/Scheduling
With a fairly consistent schedule of Saturday matchdays, I was able to build out a cohesive strategy to post nearly every day on YouTube. Given that I could never bank on goals and wins every week, there was always a plan in place to reintigrate older content, deliver repackaged archival footage, or create new content.
The attached image is an example of a mix of archival content along with current events. They combine for a total of 18 posts across 14 days. Across that time, only three goals were scored.
