Paddy Galloway's YouTube Guide
We’ve witnessed and written about countless brands that have grown through YouTube.
So what are we going to do to grow Marketing Examined?
Start a YouTube channel!
To prep for it, we’ve spent an ungodly amount of time studying the master of YouTube growth - Paddy Galloway.
He knows what he’s doing.
After studying PG’s content, we turned it into a guide on how to start a YouTube channel.
Here you go.
If you have just started on YouTube and have $ 0 to spend, do this:
- Study YouTube for a few hours/day, ideally with other creator friends.
- Learn editing & storytelling yourself.
- Post one video a week. Don’t miss.
- Learn from each video and apply lessons learned to the next one.
A YouTube channel is like a small business.
You need some form of competitive advantage to succeed.
Think about things you can do that others can’t.
This makes your content one of one instead of one of many.
Who to create the content for?
Understand who your core, casual, and new viewers are.
Then build a strategy that can reach out to more casual and new viewers, without ignoring the core.
What should you focus most of your energy on in the beginning?
The idea is everything.
The idea sets the ceiling, the execution determines the result.
How to come up with viral ideas?
1. Understand what makes something viral
- Broad appeal
- A trend
- New and unique
- Shock value
2. Research and see what’s viral right now, not just within your niche.
3. Brainstorm 100 ideas and then whittle them down.
How to know which idea to prioritize?
Some elimination criteria Paddy suggested:
Now I have some potential ideas, how should I think about execution?
Good thinking! Viral ideas are of no value without good execution.
- Spend time scripting.
- Run the idea and script by others.
- Film it over days and reshoot bits that you are not happy with.
- Make 10-20 different thumbnails and title variations.
- Get feedback
What makes a quality video?
Production value + quality idea + storytelling + effort shown in the video
How to make viewers feel the effort you put into the video?
What makes a great title?
Keep your title short, concise, clear, and emotionally resonant.
Bad: ''I dug a hole to China in 1 week dressed up as Batman while balancing an egg on my head''
Good:'I Pickpocketed a Pickpocket'' by Zac Alsop
What makes a great thumbnail?
- Make it bright - 60%-70% YT users are in dark mode
- 3 or less elements - easy to glance
- The image should complement the title and tease the story
What makes an intro that holds viewers’ attention?
- Re-affirm what’s conveyed in the title & thumbnail.
- Straight to a storyline
- Cut down unnecessary context
- Put the best clip first, don’t save the best moment for later.
- Set stakes - give viewers a compelling reason to keep watching.
- Don’t make it feel like an intro
What’s the most important metric you should be looking at?
Views are the “G.O.A.T.” of all metrics, especially in the beginning.
Then use CTR (click-through rate) and AVD (average view duration) as complementary metrics.
Metrics are influenced by external factors. So use benchmarks of videos at similar view counts, length/format, traffic sources, etc.
How to make money through YouTube?
It’s a diversified business. Some potential income streams:
What are some other Universal YouTube principles?
- Learn the psychology of people
- Understand and predict what your audience finds interesting, and how can you get them to stop scrolling & click.
- Use both data + creative vision to guide your strategy, not just one or the other.
- Build a learning feedback loop.
