Transcription
I have six million subscribers. I have the most viewed video on the topic of education and climate change. Now I say this not to flex, but to tell you that it wasn't luck; there's a formula to it, and in this video, I will share with you 21 things I would do if I started a YouTube channel. Number 11 is a game changer.
The first thing that I would never do is I would never say “like, comment, or subscribe,” right? Because that's what amateurs do. The experts, they say “watch this video,” because if you get somebody to watch another video, this will trigger the algorithm to boost your content in the recommended section, and 75% of all of your views will come from YouTube recommendations.
Now, guys, it should go without saying, but recognize YouTube's dominance. Right now, I'm not saying “focus only on YouTube.” You want to focus 80% on YouTube and 20% on the other platforms, and here's why. So here's a graph; this is the lifespan of the posts on social media, right, according to platform. So you've got one day, we've got five, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, and here we've got X, we've got Facebook, we've got IG, and then we've got YouTube, right? So the average post on X, it doesn't even hit the graph; right, it's 15 minutes. Facebook is a little bit on the graph; it's about 5 hours. Instagram is half a day, about 12 hours. But YouTube, the lifespan of a YouTube video, it's 30 days, right? So focus on YouTube. YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world. YouTube will be here when all of the other platforms go away, so you want to take it more seriously because the investment will pay off in the long run. The longer your videos are on YouTube, the more credibility and the algorithm that you have, and you will have more passive income pretty much forever, right? I've got videos that I put out on YouTube 10 years ago that are still being recommended.
But when you're on YouTube, you're going to have to choose between two options; you're going to have to choose between short-form videos and long-form videos, right? You'll get more subscribers with short form, but it'll be a lower quality, and so you'll make less money. So, give you an example: I made a video with short form that got 30 million [Music] views; it brought in maybe $5,000. I made a long-form video; they got 30 million views, but the revenue on that was $50,000, and that was with a lower CPM, which is the category that I'm in. So, short form, you'll get more subs, but a lower-quality person, and you'll get less money. Long form, you'll get less subs, but you'll get a higher-quality viewer. So I've seen people successful in both long form and short form; you just have to choose which fits your style, uh, your niche, and how you want to come at YouTube better—which one, long form, short form? It doesn't matter; they both have pros and cons, but you pick, and if you do it right, you can be successful in both. All right.
But guys, whether you choose long form or short form, right, if you master this next skill, you will master YouTube. I have seen algorithms change, right? Creators come and go, but what will always be the most valuable skill, the MVP on YouTube, is storytelling, right? You master storytelling, and you will master YouTube. Why? Because you have mastered attention. The human brain—brain—is literally wired, right? That's a brain; it's wired for story, right? Stories are actually older than the written word—almost 200,000 years older. Yes, I have a degree in anthropology; I know what I'm talking about, right? Human beings used to gather around fires, right, telling stories, and now we gather around phones, right? The modern-day storytellers are content creators. So stop giving facts—boring facts—stop telling numbers—start telling exciting stories that people can connect to, and watch your channel blow up.
But guys, if you're going to master storytelling, then you have to master this one thing, because it is so powerful, and it's a game changer; it's called “The Twist.” See, the reason why jokes are so funny, so powerful, is because of the twist, right? I'll tell you a joke to prove my point. So last week, my best friend ran off with my wife. I really miss him. See? You thought I was taking you down a path, right, a predictable path, and then I just twisted it, right? So the twist is an engagement cheat code, right? It adds engagement in such a powerful way, and every great movie or video has it. So in the human brain—this is my—this is my brain—in the human brain, The Twist activates a part called Broca's area, and Broca's area, I like to call it the “Oh my God, I had no idea” area, right? So when you give somebody that “Oh my God, I had no idea” feeling, you shoot dopamine into the brain, and the brain just can't get enough. So if you master The Twist, then you will master storytelling, you will master attention, and you will master YouTube.
Therefore, guys, you have to focus on something very important—important ideas, right? Content is king; packaging is queen; the idea is God, right? People are attracted to the queen, right? And content, it runs the kingdom, but the idea is everything; it runs through everything. If you have a crappy idea, it will ruin everything. But the question is, how—how do you come up with great ideas? Well, you get ideas from reading more. The more information you expose yourself to, the more connections you're going to make, and the more ideas will come to you just spontaneously, right? Einstein said, “Why do I get my best ideas in the shower when I'm shaving?” So when fresh ideas come, they have to be honored, right? New ideas. But it's hard to scale that, right? It's hard to scale the—the Eureka moments, and therefore, this is super cool: the great Picasso said something very interesting on the matter; he said, “Good artists copy; great artists steal.” Now there's a lot of thievery going on today, right? Just blatant copying on social media, and that ain't what he meant, right? When trying to come up with YouTube video ideas, you should what I call “ethically steal,” right? What you want to do is you want to look at, okay, what's already been successfully done on the topic, right? What's the most viewed video? Now, how can I borrow what they did well, but I just borrow it? How can I elevate it and put my own signature spin on it? See, content creator, we often forget they're a creator, right? We forget that a creator is someone who—who birthed something new into the world, not just a carbon copy of what's already out there.
One mantra that motivated myself for a lot of my viral content, I would say this to myself before I started to make the video; I would ask myself, okay, “How can I not just make the best video I can make? How can I make the best video that's ever been done?” But with that said, you still have to get really good at packaging, right? Imagine going to the finest five-star restaurant ever, right? Beautiful decor, ambiance; the violinist is playing; you got exquisite silverware, and then they bring the food out on a cheap $2 paper plate. This is what happens when you make a great—great piece of content, and then the packaging is just an afterthought; it ruins the whole experience. Video success is all about the idea and the packaging. Nobody will watch a great idea if it's not packaged right. So come up with the title and thumbnail first, right? A lot of people do that last, but if you do what everybody else is doing, you will get what everybody else is getting. So come up with a banger title and thumbnail, right? And you have positioned yourself in the best way possible for success. Packaging has to come first. Somebody even said, “It's not about who makes the best video; it's about who can come up with the best, most interesting title and thumbnail, and then sandwich the video into that.”
But one thing that people don't talk about is part of the packaging is the hook, right? Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, right? I don't know if you guys are old enough to remember him, but he—he had the most unstoppable shot in basketball history; it couldn't be blocked, right? It was called the hook shot. And if you want to be unstoppable on YouTube, then you better master the hook. The hook is now just as important as the title and thumbnail, and let me tell you why. See, you need a visually dynamic hook, because a lot of people hover their finger or cursor over the video to preview it, right, before they watch it, and those few first seconds are exactly what plays. So you need a great visual hook, right, that can stop the scroll and can be played without sound. But you also need a great audio hook, right, for people when they actually do click it, right? Something that can give the viewer a strong feeling of curiosity. If there's one thing—one thing to obsess over, guys, is the hook, right? You'll never have a second chance to make a first impression. So I came up with this thing called the 5-second rule, right? You remember the 5-second rule where if you drop food on the ground, you got 5 seconds, uh, to pick it up and eat it? Well, the same applies to videos; you have 5 seconds to hook a person into the video, or they themselves will pick themselves up and leave. So the question is, how do you do it? And I'm going to show you right now. See, there's three—there's three ways: the first way is a question, right? The second is a story, and the third is a bold statement. All of these work on the same principle—curiosity, right? You have to enthusiastically make someone curious enough to want to watch your video all the way through. So you start by asking a question, right? A question—not just any question, right? A question that they must know the answer to. If they don't find out the answer to this question, they will go crazy, right? So they have to watch your video. Or you can tell an engaging story, right? Telling an engaging story that makes people ask the question, “How will this end?” And lastly, you can make a bold statement—something so absurd or counterintuitive that they have to watch the video to find the answer—some crazy statistic like I did in this video here: “Do you know what day of the week you are most likely to die from a heart attack? Take a guess; I'll give you a second. It's Monday. Care to guess what time it is? Between 8 and 9 a.m. Do you know what else happens Monday at 8? That is the same day and time people get ready to go into jobs they hate.” Now there's a lot more to unpack here, but I have created a free way to teach you everything I know; this is called the One Video Away Viral Bootcamp. Just click the link in the description box and go there; it is totally free. If you're really ready to have millions of people knowing about you, your business, your art, I tell you this: stop hitting your head against the wall to figure out how to go viral, how to be seen, how to get 100,000 people or views; this boot camp is for you. Click the link in the description, and I'll see you there.
Therefore, guys, I would focus on one main thing: going viral, right? Going viral is the quickest way to success, and I know there are some doubters that say, “Oh, but I thought you got to keep pumping out content.” No, you're—you're wasting your time, right? Be a home-run hitter, not a base hitter; swing for the fences. People remember the Mark McGwire, the Barry Bonds, the Babe Ruths. So focus on creating sharable, clickable, and commentable content, right? Get as many eyeballs on your content as possible without sacrificing the integrity of yourself or your message, right? Because one video done right can do more for your channel or brand or business than 100 subpar videos can.
But when it comes to going viral, the most important thing is timing, right? Timing success on YouTube is like timing success in the stock market, right? Think about the stock market: you buy this stock here, you're a millionaire; you buy it here, you lose everything you got, right? So timing matters more than anything else, really. And every business knows this; they call it the first-mover advantage. On YouTube, proper timing can allow mice to roar like lions. What does that mean? That means a small channel, if timed right, can have the reach and success of a big channel. So if you want to grow fast, create content when the conversation is going up, right? It's trending up, or it's at its peak, right? This is the Holy Grail. Now this shouldn't be your full strategy; it should be part of your strategy, and you should make things like Google Trends your friend, right? X, right? Twitter; what's—what's happening? What's trending on Twitter? Follow holidays and tempo events; these things can create massive spikes in viewership. What you really want to do to—to really go viral successfully, right? If you have a business or a brand, here's the secret: you want to take what's happening now, right? And you want to see, what does your audience like? What are they interested in? If you could find a sweet spot between that, you have cracked the code, and you have really become one of the most dangerous people on YouTube.
Now, even though you should be trying to go viral, right, never focus on these three data points: views, likes, and shares. Forget about this; if you're really serious, this is a no-no, right? Right? You should only focus on another three; these are the three I call the big three, right? It's so easy to become overwhelmed by all the data on YouTube, but focus on what I'm about to tell you; these are the big three data points, and your results will be astronomical because you will be giving the algorithm exactly what it wants. The big three are CTR, AVP, and avpv, right? CTR is a click-through rate, right? This is the title, the thumbnail; you want to make sure your thumbnail is optimized for mobile, right? Because 70% of your viewers are watching it on a small screen. Now, an average CTR is 2 to 5%; it's okay. Now, 5 to 10% is considered good, but what you should be striving for is anything above 10%. A 10% CTR is—is incredible, right? It tells YouTube that your title, your thumbnail, your topic are highly engaging and relevant to your audience. Now, AVP is average view percentage. Now, YouTube is—is a business; it ain't a charity, right? It wants people to stay on the platform, keep clicking ads, right? So you have to have content that keeps people there; that's why watch time is so important, right? It's the Holy Grail. An AVP of 60 or 70% is something to strive for; you are winning. Now, avpv is average views per viewer, right? This is the average number of times a viewer has watched your video on your channel, right? This is why setting up playlists are so important, right? Now, a one avpv means that the average viewer watches one video; above one indicates like, so 1.2 or two, they're coming back; higher than two, that's great, right? That shows you have a very engaged audience that watches multiple videos from your channel, either in a single session or over time, and that's what you want to strive [Music] for.
Which brings me to the algorithm itself. Now, the algorithm is not some—it's not some evil demon, you know, trying to—to—to enslave you and punish you; it's actually your teammate, right? It's a friend, and you have to treat your teammate right by giving what they need to do their job. The YouTube algorithm wants your content to find the perfect audience, but you have to think of it like a sixth grader, right? It's not the smartest, and it's easy to confuse it, right? So your goal is not to—to beat the algorithm; you have to give it what it wants, right? And if you're not getting what you want, you're not giving it what it wants, right? The more clearly you have defined—find the audience that you want to reach, the easier a time the algorithm has to send it out to those people. So here's the question: who are you targeting? Get very clear on that, right? Don't confuse the algorithm; if you do, you're going to think, “Oh, man, I'm—I'm shadowbanned,” right? No, you just haven't clarified and honed in on your niche. And here's a bonus fact: advertisers actually pay more to be seen on smaller niche channels than larger general channels.
But you not only have to simplify who you're targeting, right? You also have to simplify the message, right? Billionaire rapper Jay-Z—Jigga Man—he said, “I dumb down for my audience and double my dollars; they criticize me for it, yet they all scream.” George Carlin, right? One of my favorite comedians, he says, “Think about how stupid the average person is, and then realize that half of them are stupider than that.” Now I know, yes, there is some humor and some cynicism in these quotes, but let's be real; let's—let's look at the facts: 43% of adults in the US read at or lower than a sixth-grade reading level. Creator John Fish, right? He studied over 100 videos—viral videos—and he found that most were spoken at a fifth-grade level. Donald Trump, right? There's been many studies and reports and analyses on Trump; Trump speaks at a fourth-grade level. I can go on and on; my point being, simplify your message for the viewer, right? Simplify, simplify, simplify. And you can use apps like Hemingway, right? That you can just go on, and they'll calculate the grade level of your writing and simplify it for—for you. But if you simplify and don't give value, there's no point; you need to prioritize value, right? It is so important. See, do you think YouTube is free? People think YouTube is free, right? YouTube is not free, right? People are paying you with their attention, and attention is the most valuable currency there is because time is the most valuable asset we have. So the question that you need to be asking yourself as a creator is, “How can you make free content valuable, right? So that people would actually pay for it? How can you make a short—you know, a short that you do where people might pay $5 for? How can you do a long-form video where people might pay you $50 for, right?” This is how you stand out—when you give true value—because YouTube's number one measurement of success is satisfaction, and satisfaction means value, right? Napoleon Hill said, “The man who does more than he is paid for will soon be paid for more than he does.”
But you can deliver value in a boring way, right? Boring is the cardinal sin of content creation. You have to use emotion, right? Emotion, right? Humans are emotional creatures; we're not logical; we make emotional decisions and then justify it with logic. And the sad truth about today is most people live in what's called quiet desperation; they're dying to feel something. So when you make content, you can't just not be boring; you also have to give people what I call an emotional surge—an emotional surge. Think about the most popular influencers today, right? Think about it right now; they stimulate an emotion within you. Think about Gary Vee, right? Gary Vee wouldn't be Gary Vee if he was like, you know, all quiet and meek, like, “You know, I just get along, and you know, maybe your business can get up off the ground.” And no, he's like, “Listen, drop out of school; your mom lied to me; follow your dreams,” right? He's—he's in your face. MrBeast, right? He—he's what is he doing? He's got explosions in every video; he's buying eyeballs, right? Think about Martin Luther King, right? Do you really think he would have the most powerful speech in history if he was like, “Hey guys, I—I just have a thought I'd like to share with you, you know, please just don't judge each other anymore?” No, no; he's like, “I have a dream, you know, that one day my four little children will—will live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character,” right? So—so you got to use emotion, right? Use emotion, right? And as long as it fits your theme, music and sound effects, right? That can take you to the next level. Uh, Pixar—Pixar has this down to a science; check out a video called “How Pixar Uses Music to Make You Cry”; that video will open your eyes about how they use music to create an emotional surge within you, right? They know exactly how to pull your heartstrings, and you, if you're a content creator, should too. So the first question that I like to ask when I'm creating a video is, “How do I want them to feel?” You need to be intentionally emotional, right? Get clear on that, right? Pick a side; don't—don't be afraid of—of tension either, right? Don't be afraid to turn some people off because it will turn some people on. But there's a lot of people that have something to say, right? They have the emotional, you know, energy inside of them, but fear blocks them. So I say “F fear,” right? There's six words that will kill your dreams more than anything else: “What will they think of me?” See, life is—has surgically given us mental BBLs. What's a mental BBL? We got a big butt in our mind, right? “But I'm not ready; but I'm not talented enough; but I don't have the equipment.” Just go for it, right? Just show up, right? The difference between the people who are successful on YouTube and the ones who aren't is the people who go for it, who show up, right? Will you get criticized? Yes. Will you make mistakes? Yes. Is it worth it? Yes.
One thing that stops people is they stress out over equipment, right? I would spend less time stressing out over the best equipment and more time focused on authenticity, right? Authenticity is—is beautiful; vulnerability is magic; it's refreshing in a world where everybody's bragging and boasting. And something is happening now on YouTube, and I love it, right? New and smaller creators are getting pushed more than ever before. You don't need Hollywood edits; you don't need Hollywood productions; in fact, I'm seeing that those things actually could hurt you, right? If you're focused on—on trying to make the most beautiful, pristine, and perfect video, right? YouTube is finally coming back to YouTube, right? Where the currency is authenticity and creativity, right? It's an old saying: “He or she who can connect more wins.” So stop worrying about the best equipment, right? Stop trying to be fancy; get the editors; 90% of your success will be showing up. I started my whole career with a microphone in a Nike shoe box, right? And I reached thousands of people with that. The equipment doesn't matter as much as the authenticity and the energy, right? People feel the energy; it's not about being perfect; it's like a singer, right? Who has the best studio vocals, right? Versus that singer—that soul singer—whose voice cracks a little bit when they get to the part about heartbreak, right? Which one do you prefer?
So now that you know how to connect with your audience or your community, what you want to do now is you want to treat YouTube right—like a business, but not a job, right? YouTube is not a job; YouTube is where you're sharing what you're passionate about, right? What you love. I've seen so many creators—maybe your favorite creators—having mental health issues because they start treating YouTube like a job. You don't want to do that, right? YouTube is supposed to free you; it shouldn't become your prison, right? But you need to treat it like a business, right? Be organized and optimize; automate; eliminate or delegate tasks so that you can stay in your genius zone.
But the success of every channel, right? Every channel on YouTube depends on one thing: your unique selling proposition. Dan Kennedy, he said, “Make a list of what everybody else is doing, and don't do that.” See, no matter what type of industry you're in, no matter what type of YouTuber you are, you have to—you have to stand out, right? Whether it's the way you dress, whether it's the way you speak, you have to play a certain role, right? That's different from what's out there; what I call is you just play a—play a new note, right? And get clear on what your USP is, right? What makes you different? What's your secret sauce? One thing that I love, right? I think is one of the best USPS is caring, right? If you can out-care your competitors, you will win every single time. Somebody said, “People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.” Remember this: if you really want wealth, then…
You have to remember it starts with Wei for a reason, and YouTube is all about community. One of my favorite people is Zig Ziggler. Zig Ziggler said, “You can have everything in life you want if you just help enough other people get what they want.” But even if you stand out—right, you know your USP and what makes you different—it’s still not enough unless you keep track of trends.
Trends are so important, and let me show you why. See, many years ago—a lot of you guys may not be old enough—but there was a company called Blockbuster who got offered to buy Netflix for $50 million. Blockbuster said, “No, no, we can’t do that. We laugh at you; we don’t want that. People will always want to rent DVDs from stores. Come on.” And what happened? We know the story. Netflix revolutionized the way we watch movies, and Blockbuster kind of faded into obscurity. So today, Netflix is actually worth 300 billion dollars, and Blockbuster is worth nothing. See, behaviors change; trends change. You have to pay attention to the trends.
I’ve worked with so many people with the Blockbuster mentality. They’re like, “Oh, we used to do it like this; it’ll always be like this.” No, you’re going to be irrelevant. Don’t get caught in the mindset of just because it worked last year, it’s going to work this year. Be a constant learner and keep your finger on the pulse of what’s happening in your niche and YouTube as a whole. One of my favorite quotes is: A wise man once said, “In times of change, learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves ill-equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.” So don’t be afraid to re-educate, to reinvent yourself, to pivot. Follow the trends; don’t be beholden to them, but watch them.
I bet you didn’t know this: YouTube actually started off as a dating site. They were called “Tune in and hook up.” But they pivoted because they noticed the trends, and now they turned into YouTube. So if it’s good enough for YouTube to pivot to look at trends, it’s good enough for you.
But the most important tip on this list is having a mentor. If you want to learn business, do you ask the bagger at a grocery store? If you want to learn art, would you rather learn from a novice artist or Picasso himself? Somebody who has done what you want to do, who has walked the path—not somebody who’s just talked about it. Stop trying to do everything yourself. Every athlete has a coach, and a coach is a cheat code.
I have been on YouTube for 15 years. Fifteen years. In that time, I’ve accumulated six million subscribers. I would be honored to be your coach, and for a limited time, I am teaching my secrets to go viral in my one-video-away boot camp. Just click the link below; it is totally free. If you are ready—if you are finally ready to have millions of people knowing about you, your business, your art—click the link below. Stop hitting your head against the wall to figure it out. Learn from somebody who has already walked the path. I’ll see you there.