Throughout the years, I’ve had around 5 YouTube channels. Of those 5, 3 were gaming channels about different franchises which I was (am) into. The other 2 are about health and well-being.

While I am not by any means an YouTuber superstar, out of those channels, 2 have achieved what I would consider to be a moderate amount of success, and provide with decent extra-income – considering the little time and effort I put into those.

Throughout my successes and failures though, I have noticed one very crucial rule: The road is the hardest until you reach 1000 subscribers.

After the 1000 subscribers landmark is achieved, things start to really pick up pace, momentum is built, and – provided you maintain a consistent posting schedule – acquiring new followers becomes much easier.

Whatever the case, the 1000 subscriber mark is a barrier to be surpassed.

Although none of us know exactly how the algorithm works at any given point in time, I found that two specific stats for my videos fell far outside the range of what is considered normal on YouTube.

It’s safe to conclude that this anomaly was likely the reason for our rapid success. So the big question is, what were those statistics?

The Statistics that Matter: Viewer Retention

According to many estimations found online, the average view-to-subscriber ratio is about 200 views for every 1 subscriber. But in a gaming YouTube account I’ve ran in the past I managed to get 6 to 7 subscribers for every 200 views.

This had everything to do with viewer retention!

For the average video on YouTube, viewer retention stays at around between 30 and 40% of the video. This means the average person sits through that amount of time during the video.

But my first three videos were getting an audience retention of higher than 60%, meaning the average person stayed for more than 60% of my total video. That is a lot

So what was it that made these people subscribe and stay longer to watch the first few videos than the average YouTube video you see online?

It really comes down to three things:

• The quality of the information you’re providing.
• The quality of your production.
• The quality of your delivery.

You probably see a common theme here.

Getting all three of these to click together is an art form and it’s really YouTube nirvana.

Even if you’ve mastered two of these components but you’re missing the third, your video won’t survive. Crushing all three of these qualities is the only thing that’s going to guarantee your success on YouTube.

The Blueprint for Viral YouTube Videos

So today, I’ll be sharing the exact blueprint I use to create viral videos. You’ll be able to use the same model and apply it to your future videos and hopefully achieve similar results.

Step 1: Create a YouTube Channel about something you’re passionate about

We start out with a cliché (again): Create a YouTube channel about something you’re interested in and passionate about.

Choose something that you actually care about, otherwise people will feel it and get bored. Don’t worry, your content will be able to expand over time as your audience connects with you and becomes a fan of yours. But for now, you need to focus on providing value to people within a specific niche. For me, I was able to leave a corporate job about 5 years ago and found some successful ways to make money online. So this was a great niche for me.

Step 2: Do what’s already working

Research what’s already working within your niche.

Artists have been doing this since the beginning of time, so you know it’s a good model to follow.

For my channel, I noticed that some of the videos popping off in my niche were actually providing a lot of really bad generic information, with bad English language, tips that don’t actually work, and generic deprecated advice.

So I saw an opportunity to provide real value and took advantage of it.

Step 3: Create a Stylish Title and Thumbnail

Once you have your first content topic, you need to start with a title and a thumbnail.

Most people do the opposite of this.

They wait till after the video is made, which is a huge mistake in my opinion and causes a lot of videos to flop.

You could have the best information in the world, but if no one clicks in to actually watch your video, then it doesn’t matter much, does it?

Your title needs to spark intrigue and your thumbnail needs to get someone to stop and look. The good news is, Canva has tons of proven templates that you can play with. Remember, don’t overdo it and keep it simple. Look at my last videos title and thumbnail. Four total words in my thumbnail. That’s it.

Step 4: Scripting

This is where you tie together your information and your delivery. The introduction of every script is called the hook. And that is that critical 10 to 30 seconds where your main job is to hook the viewer so they stay and watch as long as possible. But while doing so, you also need to deliver on the promise that you made with your thumbnail and title. My most recent video absolutely nailed this, which is a large reason for its success.

The cool part about scripting is that we can absolutely leverage AI tools like chat, GPT, or Bard to help us craft a script that has solid information and entertainment value at the same time. So, say your channel is about making money online.

Rather than going to chat GPT and asking for a simple script on the 5 best ways to make money online, Come up with something creative. Ask it to help you turn $1 into $1,000 instead. Then follow that blueprint that it gives you. That’s a video I would actually stop and watch today. For my last video, I did use chat GPT to help me organize some of the main points I laid out, but I did not use it to write my hook because I felt it really needed that human touch.

Step 5: Put your Video Together

Once you have your script, you need to edit your video together.

Whether you actually show your face on camera or it’s just an audio, we can follow the 10 second rule to retain attention for as long as possible.

The 10 second rule is exactly like it sounds:

Every 10 seconds you hold your audience’s attention, you earn another 10.

So that means that every 10 seconds, you need to give them something, whether it makes them smile, laugh, think, or provides them with new and useful information.

When you’re editing, you should have a good time. Avoid cheesy stock footage to tell your story.

The last thing you want is for your audience to feel like they’re sitting through a shitty commercial.

Since TikTok and Instagram reels have become increasingly popular, people’s attention spans have become significantly shorter for what they’re willing to sit through. Your video included.

You can use…

• Motion graphics
• Clever sound effects
• Movements
• Memes
• Pop Culture references

….to keep the viewer engaged.

My last video was 5 minutes and 30 seconds long, but it had over 100 total clips involved. That’s one cut for every 3.3 seconds.

Step 6: Get Creative

This is the final component that brings your entire video together.

The first YouTuber I ever watched used to wear a bright pink shirt in every video.

I always wondered why. It was so ugly and it didn’t fit his content at all. But one day he explained that the bright pink shirt is what made him different from the rest.

So my question for you is: What is your pink shirt?

Find that and use it to your advantage. Look, if you follow these steps and aim to beat the stats I mentioned earlier, then you’re gonna be light years ahead of your competition on YouTube.

Conclusion

Making money with YouTube has the potential to change your life from a monetary standpoint forever.

So if you’ve chosen to invest your time and energy on this, then you might as well do what actually works. A lot of you have been asking if I do coaching or have a course on how I grew so fast on YouTube recently. So I did put together a 75 minute course with every secret hack and growth method I know. The link is in the description for those of you who wanna take it to the next level, but I promise I’m not gonna turn into one of those online gurus and start promoting this super aggressively. It’s just there for those of you who want it. Thanks so much for watching this video.