Welcome to Created, the newsletter that makes you feel more connected than free WiFi at Starbucks. Here’s what we got for you today:
- MrBeast tells us about his newest company
- Ali Abdaal admits to $300K business mistake with keyboard product launch
- YouTube CEO on why YouTubers deserve Emmy's
- Weekly roundup of our favorite YT thumbnails
MrBeast Launches New YouTube Analytics Tool (Exclusive)
So...it's just another Social Blade?
Not exactly. According to MrBeast, here’s how it differs:
- Thumbnail Search: Search for thumbnails by text and image*
- Outlier Search: Outlier Search: Find videos that outperform their channel's average*
- Video Ranking: See how a channel's video performs compared to last 10 uploads
Researching outliers is actually what inspired Donaldson’s $1 vs $1M Hotel Rooms video, which was one of YouTube’s most viewed videos last year at 348M views.
Wait, what's an outlier?
It’s a video that significantly outperforms a channel’s average upload.
7 years ago, BuzzFeed posted their $1 Donut Vs. $100 Donut video which got 22M views (far more than their 300K average).
Jimmy saw how well that performed (and how much of an outlier it was) so he adapted it to his own video.
Don't just copy & paste:
“Don’t see an outlier and just do the exact video. You always have to take it and ideally put a spin on it,” MrBeast said in our interview.
“If you just recreate what’s already there… it’s not going to work. But if you use it as inspiration and creatively come up with your own version that’s where [this works]”
Our Take:
MrBeast is describing is difference between Copy and Paste versus what I like to call: Copy with Taste. See our diagram below.
*MrBeast mentioned these features are part of the Viewstats Pro which costs $50/month. Other features are free.
But psst, can I tell you a little secret? You can find outliers manually too.
Just search keywords in your niche, find the most viewed videos, and look at the subscriber count of the channels behind them.
Research, remix, repeat.
Ali Abdaal Makes $300,000 Business Mistake
Productivity YouTuber Ali Abdaal recently opened up about investing a staggering $300,000 into his new keyboard product business.
Sales have been…terrible. They only recouped about $40-50K so far.
What Happened:
- Ali's team spent 12-18 months developing a keyboard called Light Mode.
- They ordered 3,000 units, which cost them $300K.
- Upon launch, they got bad reviews including from YouTube reviewer Hipyo who roasted the product.
Boss Move:
Ali didn’t ignore Hipyo’s negative review like most would.
Instead, he made a video addressing it to his 5M+ subscribers.
“Watching [Hipyo’s] video and confronting the thoughts and the feelings that came along with it actually taught me and my team quite a lot,” Ali said in his video.
Takeaways:
With more creators launching products these days, here’s 3 things to learn from Ali.
- Don't rely on influence alone. Ali set the bar too low, stating he set out to simply make "a keyboard that Ali would use."
- Focus. Ali admits the keyboard was always at the "absolute bottom" of his priority list.
- Address the critics. Abdaal won a lot of people back with his response video when he could've easily ignored the bad reviews.
YouTube CEO: Show Me The Emmys
YouTube CEO Neal Mohan recently made the case for the Emmy Awards to start recognizing top YouTube creators.
His case:
- Top YouTubers now have entire writers' rooms and production teams like studios do
- Shows like Hot Ones and Good Mythical Morning are doing interactive formats TV can't match
- YouTube is the top streaming platform in the US with watch time on TVs up 400% in 3 years
Quote: “Creators are the new Hollywood…If creators are not acknowledged by the Emmys, then we should ask ourselves if the awards represent the future of TV or just its past,” Mohan said. Shots. Fired.
Our Take:
This isn’t about the Emmy’s.
As someone who helped many YouTube execs write their posts and speeches when I worked there, I’ll tell you one thing — this is about a little thing we call “positioning.”
Should YouTubers win Emmy’s? Sure. They’re reshaping media.
But was this really about the Emmy’s? No.
This was about YouTube trumping TV in the eyes of advertisers as the place with the most eyeballs — and now, some of the best content.
Brilliant marketing move from YouTube. Time to pony up for those pre-rolls.
🎯 Weekly Roundup: Thumbnails
Here’s why we love these YT thumbnails. Hopefully, they inspire your next one.
- Contrast of orange product on grey background captures attention (Coffeezilla)
- Use of leading lines and purple and yellow (hair + shirt) being complimentary colors (Ryan Trahan)
- Dramatic lighting and unique portrayal of Einstein draw curiosity (Veritasium)
- Tension of katana striking makes you want to click (Mike Shake)
💬 Ask Me Anything
What’s a question or problem you’re facing as a creator?
Reply to this email. I try to respond to every message I get.
I’ll also take the best ones and answer them on our podcast so you get a shoutout.
🏆 The Created Referral Program
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Trust me, these books are packed with more tips than most paid courses.
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– Jon
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