Starting a YouTube channel is an exciting experience … until your stats show that the only views on the videos you put so much time into are from your mom.
Playing the YouTube game is not for the impatient. It takes a lot of time and effort to build a subscriber base and reach goals such as monetization. Fortunately, there are people willing to share their knowledge on how to get there at least a little bit sooner.
Expert YouTube creator and coach Derral Eves shares his wisdom and experience in The YouTube Formula: How Anyone Can Unlock the Algorithm to Drive Views, Build an Audience, and Grow Revenue. If you’re not familiar with Derral Eves, maybe you’ve heard of one of his clients, Jimmy Donaldson, a.k.a. MrBeast.
As the most-subscribed individual on YouTube, MrBeast knows his stuff about running a channel and has benefitted from Eves’ advice. Seeing some of that advice available to the general public is pretty sweet.
If you’re looking for shortcuts or hacks, The YouTube Formula is not where you want to go. Eves stresses that building a YouTube following is a long game that takes real work. He also reminds readers that despite all the small but important things you can do to get your videos seen, the most essential piece to concentrate on is creating quality content. You can have the greatest titles and thumbnails possible, but if your content is crap, viewers will tune out.
He even emphasizes this point when discussing the YouTube algorithm. As we’ve written about before, the algorithm is not some mysterious malevolent force looking to hold down your video. YouTube wants people to watch videos, so they have an algorithm that rewards creators who make videos people want to watch.
The YouTube Formula takes steps to explain and demystify the YouTube algorithm. And the biggest takeaway from this book is that there’s not a lot to demystify here. Once you understand what the algorithm looks for, you can figure out how to align your goals for your channel with YouTube’s goals. Sure, it has chapters on optimizing your title or thumbnail, but some of the most important things you can do are understand your audience and stay consistent. You know, Marketing 101 stuff.
This book emphasizes the importance of being a “student of the data” and studying your analytics. You might be thinking, “I’m a creator, not a data nerd!” Don’t worry. Eves breaks down the most important metrics to study to find the most useful feedback on your videos. You don’t have to be a stats whiz to see where you can make tweaks that positively affect your channel’s growth.
While this book provides plenty of how-tos and pro tips featuring specific actions you can apply to your channel, it goes a lot deeper than that. After all, you can find these specific tips and tricks in a million blog posts and videos. What sets The YouTube Formula apart is Eves’ focus on mindset. He talks about patience, burnout, and the comparison and copycat traps. These topics are crucial to understand if you want to stave off frustration. Quick tips will get you only so far, but getting your mind right will help you stick with your channel for the long haul instead of giving up when you’re not seeing results.
If you’re starting a YouTube channel, or if you’ve had one for a while and aren’t seeing the results you want, check out The YouTube Formula. It’s not a list of cheat codes. It’s better. The YouTube Formula blends concrete advice with doses of tough love and healthy attitudes. Reading it won’t guarantee success, but it certainly can help you enjoy the YouTube content creation process a lot more.
Order your copy of The YouTube Formula from the Brand Outlaw Bookshop page.
