I asked MrBeast how to grow on YouTube in 2024
Summary
TLDRIn this illuminating video script, the creator shares seven insider tips to skyrocket YouTube growth in the wake of recent platform changes. From optimizing thumbnails with the '18% test' to drawing inspiration from unconventional sources like TV shows and billboards, the advice is both fresh and practical. Leveraging YouTube's new linking feature, the script delves into strategic methods like the 'flood method' and 'short to short' linking. It also emphasizes the importance of clipping videos before others do, using mainstream music, visualizing ideas with T-sheets, and preparing for potential 'link apocalypse' scenarios by diversifying traffic sources. With a blend of insight and actionable strategies, this script promises to equip viewers with a competitive edge in the ever-evolving YouTube landscape.
Takeaways
- 😄 Keep your YouTube thumbnails simple and clutter-free, with no more than three main elements, to make them easily recognizable and engaging.
- 🔍 Look for inspiration beyond just other YouTube videos, such as TV shows, movies, and billboards, to create unique and attention-grabbing thumbnails.
- 🔗 Utilize YouTube's new linking feature strategically by either flooding your shorts with links to your latest long-form video or linking your shorts to each other in a series.
- ✂️ Clip your own long-form videos into shorts before others do it, so you can direct the views back to your channel and potentially gain more exposure.
- 🎵 Use mainstream, trending music in your videos to make them more familiar and engaging for your audience, while staying protected from demonetization and copyright issues.
- 📝 Sketch out your video ideas using T-sheets (title, synopsis, and visual sketch) to better conceptualize and gather feedback before production.
- ⚠️ Prepare for a potential "link apocalypse" by diversifying your traffic sources and building your own platforms, as platforms may restrict external linking in the future.
- 💰 Consider creating additional revenue streams, such as a newsletter or a course, to build a sustainable business as a creator.
- 🤝 Collaborate with and learn from other successful creators to gain insights and strategies for growing your channel and audience.
- 🧠 Stay informed about platform updates, algorithm changes, and industry trends to adapt and optimize your content strategy accordingly.
Q & A
What is the first tip discussed for growing on YouTube?
-The first tip is to limit your Lamborghinis, which refers to keeping your thumbnails simple and not overcrowded with too many elements, based on Mr Beast's approach of using one clear focal point instead of multiple distracting objects.
What is the second tip related to?
-The second tip is to look off YouTube to succeed on YouTube. It suggests drawing inspiration from traditional media like TV shows, billboards, and movie posters for thumbnail designs and video formats, rather than solely relying on studying other YouTube content.
What are the two methods discussed for using YouTube's new linking feature for Shorts?
-The two methods discussed are: 1) The flood method, where you link all your Shorts to your most recent long-form video, and 2) The short-to-short method, where you link your Shorts together, especially if they are part of a series.
Why is it important to clip your own long-form videos before others do?
-With YouTube's new linking feature, you can only link your Shorts to your own videos, not to other channels. If others clip your content first, they can get the views from those Shorts, whereas if you clip your own content first, you can drive those views to your own channel.
What is the recommendation regarding music usage in videos?
-The tip is to use better music, specifically mainstream music from popular artists, as it can make your videos feel more familiar and engaging to viewers. The sponsor Licked is mentioned as a service that allows using mainstream music while being protected from demonetization and copyright strikes.
What is the purpose of using t-sheets, as recommended by Zach King?
-T-sheets are a simple tool to visually brainstorm and sketch out video ideas, including a synopsis, thumbnail sketch, and title. This helps to better visualize and refine ideas before fully developing them into videos.
What is the potential 'link apocalypse' discussed towards the end?
-The 'link apocalypse' refers to the possibility of YouTube banning external links on long-form videos, similar to how they removed the ability to add links in Shorts. The recommendation is to diversify traffic sources and prepare for this potential scenario.
What is mentioned about Elon Musk's statements regarding social media platforms?
-Elon Musk (formerly Twitter CEO) had suggested removing accounts that promote other social media platforms and content with links to platforms like Facebook and Instagram. While he later deleted the post, it highlights the potential for platforms to limit cross-promotion and external links.
What is the recommendation for diversifying traffic sources?
-The recommendation is to sprint to diversify your traffic sources in the next few months, such as starting your own newsletter or other owned platforms, to prepare for the possibility of fewer external links being allowed on platforms like YouTube in the future.
What is the 'Insider Accelerator' course mentioned at the end?
-The 'Insider Accelerator' is a course being launched by the speaker, where they will share more tools, tips, and templates to help creators build a real business, going beyond just growing on YouTube.
Outlines
🎥 Setting Up Successful YouTube Video Thumbnails
This paragraph discusses effective thumbnail strategies for YouTube videos. It highlights the importance of simplicity and limiting elements in thumbnails, using the example of Mr. Beast's process. The '18% test' is introduced, which involves shrinking the thumbnail size to identify visibility issues on mobile devices. The paragraph emphasizes having three elements or less in thumbnails for optimal clarity.
🔎 Drawing Inspiration from Diverse Sources
This section encourages creators to look beyond YouTube for inspiration, citing examples like TV shows, billboards, and movie posters. It discusses how Mr. Beast's team drew inspiration from the Apple TV show 'Severance' for a thumbnail idea. The paragraph emphasizes the importance of studying traditional media formats and adapting successful concepts to YouTube.
🔗 Leveraging YouTube's New Linking Feature
This paragraph explores strategic ways to utilize YouTube's new linking feature for Shorts. It introduces two methods: the 'flood method' (linking all Shorts to the most recent long-form video) and the 'short-to-short method' (linking related Shorts together). It also highlights the importance of clipping long-form videos into Shorts before others to retain viewership. The paragraph mentions tools like Opus Clip that can assist with this process.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Thumbnails
💡Shorts
💡Clipping
💡Music
💡T-Sheets
💡Link Apocalypse
💡Engagement
💡Monetization
💡Inspiration
💡Collaboration
Highlights
Limit your Lamborghinis in thumbnails - keep it simple with three elements or less to pass the '18% test' for visibility on mobile devices.
Look beyond YouTube for inspiration - study traditional media like TV shows, billboards, and movie posters for fresh thumbnail and video format ideas.
Use YouTube's new linking feature strategically with the 'flood method' (link shorts to latest long-form video) and 'short-to-short method' (link shorts together).
Clip your long-form videos into shorts before others do, to drive views back to your channel using the linking feature.
Use mainstream, trending music from services like Licked to make videos more familiar and appealing to new audiences.
Brainstorm video ideas using 'T-sheets' - visual sketches with titles, synopses, and concepts, to get feedback before production.
Prepare for a potential 'link apocalypse' where platforms restrict external links, by diversifying traffic sources like newsletters.
Study internal drafts and thumbnail revision history of successful creators to understand their thought process and evolution.
Draw inspiration from unexpected sources, like the opening scene of a TV show sparking a unique thumbnail idea.
Recreate successful formats from traditional media, like reality shows or late-night segments, and adapt them for YouTube.
Use AI tools like Opus Clip to automatically generate short clips with proper styling from long-form videos.
Hire storyboard artists or use T-sheets to visualize and refine video ideas before production.
Diversify traffic sources like newsletters to prepare for potential restrictions on external links by platforms.
Leverage trends and legislations around linking practices to stay ahead of platform changes.
Subscribe to the channel and consider the 'Insider Accelerator' course for more creator tips and business strategies.
Transcripts
I just interviewed Mr Beast about his
latest tips for growing on YouTube right
now with all the recent changes to the
platform so in this video I'm going to
break down what we talked about on and
off stage as well as what I've learned
from 5 years working inside YouTube and
interviewing top creators to share the
seven best tips we've used to see a
massive jump in this Channel and no
these aren't the obvious and outdated
tips we've all heard it's stuff I'm
genuinely shocked more people aren't
talking about you're very good at what
you do
[Music]
so the first of the seven tips is to
limit your Lamborghinis and I'll explain
what that means in a second but it comes
from this fascinating moment from my
interview with Mr Beast which by the way
make sure you subscribe CU you're not
going to want to miss the full video
when I drop it but basically he showed
me all these internal drafts that it
took to go from an initial idea to a
final thumbnail take me through what is
this that we're looking at here Jimmy
these weren't AB tests OB some of the
first ones are kind of terrible but it
just shows all the different ones we
went went through until we landed on the
the one we ended up uploading help me
roast the earlier versions like cuz I
think for you maybe it's intuitive like
how you got from point A to B like what
are some of those most obvious changes
well the top middle one you know in in
theory your gut would be like having six
Lamborghinis look school but then it's
like hard to process it and you can't
see it I'm a big fan of Simplicity just
get it across where they instantly
understand it and so like to me one big
Lamborghini in the middle which
obviously is what we went with so much
better than like a driveway covered in
lamborghin cuz it's not it's so much
harder to process I like to like just
make it where your brain could be off
and you don't have to think you get it
click you know what I mean totally in
the real world obviously six Lambos are
better than one but in a YouTube
thumbnail less is more and one thing I
like to try is to see if my thumbnail
passes what I like to call the 18% test
so shrink your Photoshop canvas or
whatever you're using to design your
thumbnail down to 18% which helps you
identify what a viewer will actually see
especially on mobile and most times you
should have three elements or less in
your thumbnails just like Mr be so that
could be a face car Castle or face train
pit or you know a face money safe just
like Jimmy does and I say this with love
because we have a Discord where over
3,500 creators are there giving feedback
to each other and most people share the
thumbnails for me to roast and I want to
share three examples where if you zoom
them down to 18% you can't see the three
elements clearly and there's way too
many Lambos stuffed in there so by
looking at it at a smaller scale you can
make better decisions on what to cut
keep or enlarge the second tip is to
look off YouTube to succeed on YouTube
now look I'm not saying you shouldn't
study other YouTubers but if that's all
you do and you dismiss content from
Hollywood because it's too traditional
then you're losing out on so many ideas
that could set you apart case in point I
was shocked to learn that actually this
thumbnail idea for Mr Beast video was
actually sparked from his team watching
a scene from an Apple TV show called
Severance how did this go from a
thumbnail idea to final what have I
thumbnail guys Chucky watched Severance
and one of the opening shots is that uh
image in the top middle he's like we
should do this for a thumbnail and I was
like what does that even mean and he
sent me that Snapchat with a circle in a
human and I was even more confused the
image on the top right and I was like
Chucky I I don't know maybe you're
drinking alcohol even though he doesn't
um and uh and somehow that led to this
thumbnail we ended up doing here in the
bottom right which actually worked
pretty well and it was kind of nice cuz
usually my thumbnails have my face and
the left side um and I've been looking
for ways to not have every thumbnail be
the exact same that was a good Breakaway
that people seem to like you can draw
inspiration from anywhere it's not like
we got that from a different YouTube
thumbnail like he was literally just
watching
sance you know and you know ever since
hearing that I've looked at three things
differently TV shows Billboards and
movie posters and in fact this thumbnail
I made is actually from a billboard for
the Spy Kids movie I me I'm not even
ashamed to say I was driving and I
literally made a u-turn parked and took
a bunch of photos of that billboard to
add to my ongoing thumbnail Hall of Fame
folder so I could later adapt it and and
if you think about it it makes perfect
sense on every Hollywood set there's a
Director of Photography whose entire job
is to create a stunning shot that tells
a story just like we saw in Severance or
graphic designers who spend their
careers making Billboards and posters to
catch your attention in a nanc while
you're speeding on the highways and this
even goes beyond thumbnails I mean for
actual video formats think about what
creators like arach are doing they're
really just recreating big brother from
t
or the Sid men's Tinder in real life
that's really just MTV's next recreated
or even my on the street videos which
have gotten millions of views those are
just Tonight Show segments like Jay
Leno's jaywalking recreated so basically
what I'm saying is study traditional
media past and present because there's
so much opportunity to apply to YouTube
before others catch on all right the
next tip is this one drives me crazy
it's to be smarter about YouTube's new
linking feature okay so this is a hot
take but I think nearly everyone is
oversimplifying YouTube's recent update
which lets you link your shorts to other
videos because there's so much more you
can do with it so here's two ideas which
I like to call the flood method and the
short to short method the flood method
means you take every single one of your
shorts and have them linked to your most
recent long form YouTube video even if
it's unrelated meaning you flood one
long form with your shorts and then when
you put out another long form video you
change all the links on your shorts to
flood to that one and people aren't
talking about this but it's actually
what Mr Beast has been doing if you pay
close attention to the links on all of
his shorts they all go to the same long
form video and it's usually his most
recent upload and then when he uploads a
new long form all those links change so
the second method is the short to short
which is exactly what it sounds like
because most people use this tool this
new linking tool only to link their
short clips to the respective long form
that they came from which is what you
see with most podcasts but what most
people don't realize is that you can
also link your short to another short
which I would do with every single short
on your channel especially if your
shorts are part of a series for example
I have a series called creators versus
celebrities where I ask people who's
more famous and at the end of each video
I tease the next one so I linked all
those shorts together now if you're
thinking John all my shorts are all
unrelated there's no format there's no
theme well I made a video of how you
could create structured experiments to
figure out how to make your content much
more bingeable and find those formats so
YouTube takes your viewers down a rabbit
hole all right the next tip is to clip
before you get clipped and to explain
that here's a quick story my hourlong
interview with Danny Duncan got 1.9
million views and a ton of people CLI
that into shorts that got their Channel
16 million views 6 million views 1
million views each and before YouTube
made this update most people would just
say yeah okay that's all right it's cool
people are taking your long form they're
turning into short they bringing you
exposure and a lot of that is still true
but with this update it actually means
you may be losing out on a ton of views
because had you clipped your long form
before others did then you could have
gotten those views and linked right to
your own video because the key here is
this this this new feature only lets you
link your shorts to your own videos not
to other channels so even if people clip
your content and they want to drive
views to you as a source they can't so
you really have to beat them to it and
now you may be thinking all right John I
can barely edit my own long form videos
how do I edit a bunch of shorts too and
that's what I thought and there's a lot
of great AI tools out there and and one
one that my team loves is Opus clip
because you could simply enter your long
form video link and boom Opus generates
a bunch of Clips with your style
subtitles suggested headline description
and even ranks them with a virality
score so you can prioritize which ones
to post bottom line you got to clip your
videos before others clip them for you
because you never know when one of those
clips get 16 million views and you could
have brought even a portion of those
views back to your channel which could
have been massive the next tip is to use
better music and for this one I have to
thank our sponsor licked because I know
this one sounds simple but if there's
one thing you've probably seen across
our channel is that we are obsessed with
finding the right music and sounds and
personally I love using lick because it
lets use Main stream music in your
videos while being protected from
demonetization and copyright strikes and
I'm talking about huge chart topping
tracks from artists like Bruno Mars
Charlie poth Oliver tree cardi B and not
to mention with over 1 million
mainstream songs and a full library of
stock tracks your options are basically
endless it's a great way to use trending
songs your audience already knows and
loves and it helps your videos just feel
that much more familiar to newer
audience perfect example of this um if
you take a look at my clip from my 24
hours with Dan Duncan video that got 2.8
million views um we'll just watch a few
seconds of it with no mainstream
music now watch that same clip with
mainstream
[Music]
music and again licked protects against
demonetization so I I don't have to
worry about it as a Creator I mean if
you're interested or curious you could
check out this link below you'll get 14
days of freestock music and 50% off your
first mainstream track which brings me
to the next tip which is use t- sheets
to brainstorm videos now Jimmy talked
about how he's hired storyboard artists
to draw his ideas out but I want to talk
about how we could do that even if we
can't hire or have the budget we have a
full-time sketch artist is like before I
even put an idea on the calendar we
sketch out what the thumbnail will be
like usually we'll sketch out a couple
versions and and figure out what the
title is this helps make sure what I'm
envisioning isn't just dumb you know
okay so a much more budget friendly way
to do this is something I learned from
my interview was Zach King who explained
this amazingly simple tool called t-
sheets that helped him grow to 20
million subscribers and I'll let Zach
break it down here in a second but
basically it's a way to quickly
visualize your ideas and share with
others for specific feedback it's
essentially like picture um an 8 and a
half by 11 paper with a t written across
and then you've got a synopsis on one
side and a picture on the other and a
title on the top and that's just to help
all kinds of Learners you have people
who read you have people that just for
me a visual learner I see see like an
image and I get the concept A little
easier and then you also come up with
like that memorable Topline title that
is almost like it's not YouTube title
ready but it's just to give you an
Essence and sometimes it's very
memorable from there Zach has his team
vote on their favorite t- sheets to turn
into videos which makes it so much
easier than talking about their ideas
and generalities like most people do and
if you don't have a team don't worry you
can do this with your roommates or
family members the point is it makes it
so much easier to have a concrete ask
which is hey what do you think of this
specific t- sheeet with a headline
sketch and concept already on there
versus what do you think of this
ambiguous idea that you send over a text
and that brings me to our last tip which
is to prepare for a potential link
apocalypse let me explain part of
YouTube's recent update is a removal of
hyperlinks in shorts right so no more
links to external sites outside
affiliate links and so forth instead we
now have that linking feature in shorts
that we discuss and YouTube is giving
you more prominent links on your channel
page where you can link up to 14 links
customize the titles and so forth for
and for now I got to say this actually
seems like a decent trade for us as
creators but the big question is this
could this lead to a link apocalypse
where YouTube bans external links on
long form too and and what's the most
extreme case scenario here and how
should we prepare to answer those
questions we have to talk about Good Old
Elon Musk because back in December he
said this quote we will remove accounts
that promote other social media
platforms and content that contain links
or usernames for the following platforms
and listed out Facebook Instagram
Macedon and so forth now he quickly
deleted that post after a ton of
backlash but then X or Twitter's at
safety account put out this poll asking
a very similar question so regardless
the cat was out of the bag and you know
what Elon said is pretty harsh but it
actually makes business sense for
platforms like Twitter and YouTube and
Instagram to not play nice and to not
link to one another I mean do you ever
wonder why putting a YouTube link in
your Instagram stories leads to this
crappy mobile web EXP experience opening
up instead of bringing you right to
YouTube's app it's the same thinking I
mean apps don't want to donate traffic
to one another and now elon's tweets and
YouTube's updates are just accelerating
this so if I were you I would Sprint
these next few months to diversify your
traffic and that's actually why I've
started my own cartoon newsletter a few
months ago because we've all heard this
whole thing you know rented Land versus
own land and I think now is the time to
really take action on it because there
could be a world where you get less
links on long form next year I'm not
saying it'll happen I'm just saying
shouldn't be caught off guard and of
course there's actually legislation that
prevents big platforms from removing all
links so you could rest easy and YouTube
is probably going to start prioritize
even more traffic within their platform
like they're doing with shopping all
right if you found these tips helpful it
mean a lot if you subscribe and I'm
actually launching a course called
Insider accelerator while I'll be taking
you under my wing to share even more
tools tips and templates to build a real
business as a Creator so check out the
link below I'll see you next time
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