how to come up with a killer youtube idea (to blow up your channel)

this is how to come up with a killer YouTube video idea to blow up your Channel watch closely because the single most important factor for determining whether a video blows up is not the title not the thumbnail not even the video quality itself but the base idea just listen to world-renowned YouTube consultant Patty gallway I'd be bleue in the face saying this until I think the day I die is like you know the idea is more important than everything but how exactly do you come up with a good idea what makes breakout video ideas different

from all the rest and what do these top YouTubers know that we don't over the last couple months I've become obsessed with this topic I've spoken to strategist Consultants I've poured over interviews listen to talks and analyze the best performing ideas from the top creators in the world I've even ventured outside the world of YouTube scouring through ideation Theory from the worlds of film creative writing journalism even game design 186 pages of notes later I found something the best YouTube ideas the ones that outperform all the rest follow a four-part formula and it all starts

with sele ing a killer topic you see nearly every killer video idea on YouTube can be broken into three core elements the topic or the subject of the video the format or the type of video and the angle or the spice that sets the video apart from all the rest the angle is the part that truly blew my mind so stick around until the end I promise it's worth it but for now we'll start with part one of the formula to come up with a killer video idea to blow up your channel killer topic the

topic answers the question what is this video about and selecting the wrong topic can Doom your video before a single word is scripted okay that's a bit dramatic but two videos about two different topics each with the exact same quality of execution can yield completely different results which is why before doing anything else the most successful YouTubers in the world first verify that their topic has the potential to blow up in the first place a a question we might ask is could this video get a million views H if it can't why are we making

it in order for a topic to even be considered by the pros they have to first find proof that it can hit their view goal this proof can look different for different YouTubers but it generally involves searching for the most popular videos made on your topic and noting how many of them got views above your vle this isn't to say that you should never make a video about a topic that doesn't have proof of Prior success after all there's a first time for everything and as YouTubers it's important to maintain a healthy quota for experimentation

but if your goal to come up with a killer idea capable of blowing up an entire channel it's much riskier to stake your success on an unproven topic So to avoid pouring days weeks or even months into making a video that no one actually wants it's worth taking the time to validate your topic first but looking at popular videos alone isn't enough to do that because while High View counts do help corroborate your view goal they Overlook one glaring problem just because the topic worked for a few large creat creators doesn't necessarily mean that it'll

work for you because big YouTubers have something going for them that most of us do not and that something is called familiarity bias this is the concept that our brains are naturally drawn to what we're familiar with so when we recognize the faer style of a YouTuber we already like know and trust we're more likely to click on it as a result view Counts from large well established creators are often inflated as their familiarity alone is powerful enough to generate interest even if they execute on topic ICS that might not work for the rest of

us but truly killer topics the topics we're looking for are strong enough to drive success even if no one knows who you are and luckily for us there's one tried and true method for identifying them Jay Alto a YouTube consultant that's been hired by the likes of Mr Beast and Ryan Tran alludes to it here when you can find a smaller Channel there maybe not in the meta or you know stereotypically like a big YouTuber when they have videos that explode there's clearly something that works there so there's something to tap into what Jay's referring

to here is something that's known as an outlier which is a video that has significantly overperformed a Channel's average if a Creator consistently pulls in 10k views per video but one video pulls in 100K views that video is an outlier in the presence of outliers especially outliers from smaller creators is one of the strongest signals in existence that a topic has a high view potential because those outliers provide tangible proof that a topic carried enough interest to blow up a video without relying on familiarity so how can we find these outliers well there's an easy

way and there's a less easy way and I'll show you both because you deserve options the less easy way involves picking a video from your search results finding the video on the Creator's Channel page comparing the views of that video to the views of the surrounding videos and repeating if you choose to use this process here are some tips first use the free one of 10 Chrome extension so you can easily see the view multiplier of each video without having to do any math second try to avoid picking videos that are less than 2 weeks

old as they typically don't yet have enough data to be very useful and third if you can try to prioritize videos that are from creators who don't have a check mark next to their name this means that they have less than 100,000 subscribers and outliers from them will be far more significant than outliers from YouTubers with millions of Subs but even with these tips this process does have its flaws for one it takes a while to go through video after video and because YouTube unfortunately doesn't have a way to filter by subscriber count it's hard

to find those High signal outliers from smaller creators which is why many of the top YouTubers and YouTube strategists prefer using a tool specifically designed to find outliers called one of 10 I have been using one of 10 for a while now and I'm still kind of in shock that I get to announce that they the very first sponsor of this Channel and guys can I get real with you for a second I've been working this channel for over a year now and to now be at a point where I'm getting sponsored by tools that

I actually use it's just the coolest thing in the world so thanks for being here and for watching these ridiculously nerdy videos that I make I truly have the best viewers I could ask for but let's get back to talking about outliers with one of 10 finding outliers for your topic is as easy as simply searching for it you are immediately met with all of the outliers one of 10 can find all in one place but the real magic is in the filters I like to set the filters to only give me videos with over

a 3X view multiplier over 100,000 views and from creators with less than 500,000 subscribers the result is a curated compilation of exclusively High signal outliers for your topic it seriously feels like cheating one of 10 is also useful for a lot of things Beyond just topic validation such as inspiration for titles and thumbnails and even as a source of new high potential topics to consider making videos about I was able to get you guys a discount code if you want to try it out so I'll put a link to that as well as to the

free one of 10 Chrome extension in the video description below thank you so much to one of 10 for sponsoring this video and look you don't have to find dozens of outliers in order to verify that your topic has potential but if you're struggling to find any relevant outliers or if you can't find many videos above your view goal goal it's worth considering a different topic if your goal is views after you're 90% confident that you have a topic with the potential to blow up you're ready to move on to part two of the formula

to come up with a killer YouTube idea killer format if the topic is the what of your video the format is the how and the combination of the two is what makes up a base idea take the topic of cooking a burger for instance the same core topic presented through different formats can yield wildly different video ideas from a simple tutorial on how to cook burgers to a door-to-door interview asking Michelin star chefs how they prefer to cook the classic American staple each format is unique and each format provides a different reason for a viewer

to click tutorials teach us how to achieve a desired result whether it's a physical final product or a sought-after skill we click on tutorials because we want to learn how to do something ourselves challenges draw their power from a natural urge to experience something we've never seen before whether it's a bucketless activity an outlandish goal or a competition the reason we click is the same to discover the outcome to experience all of the struggle successes and surprises along the way breakdown to vote questions we don't know the answers to in doing so they create a

curiosity gap which is a gap between what we currently know and what we want to know to our brains this feels like an itch that we really want to scratch and the only way to scratch that itch is by clicking on the video and learning the answer commentaries provide personal opinion ions reactions or perspectives on a topic while we typically click on commentaries because we value the specific perspective being provided whether that's from a Creator we already know or from someone with unique insight into a topic we also sometimes just click for the drama never

underestimate our thirst for drama Vlogs offer us glimpses into others lives letting us experience their daily routines adventures and Reflections the emphasis on personality allows us to connect on a more personal level and while we usually click on Vlogs from creators we already know we can also click for perspective we deeply resonate with or for the opportunity to vicariously experience a different life and last but not least interviews offer firsthand conversations with guests who have unique insights or stories whether the interview features a specific guest we already know or an expert whose authority and credibility

We Trust we ultimately click for the same reason to hear in-depth personal or exclusive information that we can't get elsewhere speaking of information that you can't get elsewhere if you're enjoying this video will not to be notified when a new video comes out now would be a great time to well you know the rest so as you decide on the format for your idea consider why someone would want to click on your video in the first place what type of value do you want to provide to your viewers and while we typically select a format

based on what best aligns with our skill set it's also worth considering what already exists on YouTube because if hundreds of videos already cover the exact same topic through the exact same format especially when many of them come from much larger creators why would anyone click on yours to break through the noise your video needs to stand out it needs to be remarkable and as it turns out there are exactly two ways to do that by being significantly better or by being significantly different the concept of being better is relatively straightforward if an idea has

already been done before you can be better by significantly improving upon it whether that be through a better title a better thumbnail or even a better video exec ution itself that's the story behind this killer idea from Mr Beast the same idea had already been done a year prior but while the original idea simulated the crash in a video game Mr Beast leveled up the execution by using a real train in a real giant pit because of course he would he's Mr Beast it's what he does but while Mr Beast makes the concept of being

significantly better look like child's play for the rest of us it's something that's much easier said than done when a lot of great content already exists on YouTube even best in-class creators often struggle with being significantly better than their competition which is why they instead Focus their efforts on being significantly different one of the most effective ways they do that is by combining formats and one of the best examples of that is Ryan Tran's iconic penny series if you haven't heard of Ryan Tran's penny series this is Ryan Tran and in 2022 he traveled across

America in 30 days using only the resources he had traded up from a penny prior to his 30-day penny series Ryan had undertaken other Penny related challenges and had seen significant success so Ryan took a proven idea trading up from a penny in a challenge format and combined it with a daily Vlog format the result a combined 31.2 million views millions of dollars raised for feeding America and the status of America's fastest growing YouTuber at the time when Ryan published his penny series daily vlogging was out of style and hyper sensationalized challenges were growing stale

but by combining the best parts of each format Ryan was able to create a challenge that viewers were able to deeply relate to a daily Vlog that kept viewers on their toes with surprises and suspense and a video series that took YouTube by storm and look you don't need to cross America in order to Leverage The Power of combined formats one of Life of Reza's highest viewed videos is a cross between a tutorial in a cinematic Vlog the show hot ones mixes the interview format with a challenge Mark Rober fuses challenges with breakdowns and commentaries

Cleo Abram frequently combines breakdowns blogs and interviews the combinations are nearly endless if you're struggling to decide on a format mix of your own go back to the value you want to provide to your viewers if you want to educate consider mixing in elements of tutorials or breakdowns if you want to connect with your viewers on a more personal level consider incorporating characteristics of Vlogs or commentaries it may even be worth breaking down what formats your favorite YouTubers use and how those formats contribute to why why you enjoy their content whether you choose to mix

multiple formats or set on just one the combination of your format and your topic is what shapes your base idea you have the foundation for a killer video idea to blow up your channel but it's what you add to that Foundation that takes an idea from just okay to truly killer which brings us to step three of the formula to come up with a killer YouTube idea killer angle remember in the beginning of the video when I told you that the angle was the part that truly blew my mind you're about to see why because

angles are what top YouTubers use to make an idea more interesting let me show you what I mean here we have a base idea made from the topic of cooking a burger and the challenge format it's plain and unfortunately a bit boring but through the addition of angles this base idea could be elevated to ideas like I made the world's biggest burger I cooked 100 Years of burgers amateur versus Pro Burger Chef can you chaste the difference and many more and while there are countless angles they could use to elevate a idea for the sake

of this video not being 3 hours long I'll share just 10 the first is the use of superlatives you've probably seen descriptors like biggest cheapest most expensive and more before and for good reason superlative videos a natural uniqueness tapping into our instinctive attraction to novelty and giving us a reason to click beyond our interest in the base idea itself a different type of extreme can be found in Stakes which introduce an element of risk or reward heightening our emotional investment the potential for loss or gain creates suspense and compels us to see how things unfold

money is a common stake that generates interest due to its Universal importance but whether it's being risked made or spent money in any context tends to draw Us in time can also be used as a stake through a time constraint which adds Su spense by centering on the difficulty of achieving something within a strict time limit but time can also be used to emphasize a prolonged commitment leveraging a concept called input bias which is the concept that the more effort is put into something whether it's time money or energy the more we value it impa

bias is also why the comprehensive angle is so effective by covering every variation of a topic or by promising all of the information someone might need you peque more curiosity and drive more interest if you don't want to cover every variation of your topic you can present as many or as few as you want through a defined list which promises a clear and efficient delivery of value through an organized familiar structure speaking of things that are familiar we can't talk about angles without once again bringing up familiarity bias because our brains are wire to gravitate

towards things that are familiar we're more likely to click on videos featuring well-known figures popular brands current trends or beloved franchises the topic but twist angle also leverages familiarity but by also introducing an unexpected element this angle can benefit from both the familiarity of a well-known topic and the novelty surprise and freshness of the twist leveraging the power of contrast contrast is also a defining feature of the comparison angle which Dr supposes two or more items ideas or experiences comparisons tend to generate the most interest when featuring either something we're considering for ourselves or something

new we've never experienced before and finally Transformations feature both a beginning State and an end result tapping into her fascination with radical change promising is satisfying before and after and provoking the desire to know the story and process behind getting from point A to point B so as you piece together your final idea consider what angle fits best for you and while this list of angles is a great place to start it is by no means comprehensive there are countless angles you could use to elevate a base idea beyond what I mentioned here and a

great way to find more is by spending some time on one of 10 looking out outliers to see which angles are working best both within your specific Niche and outside of it you can even combine multiple angles into a single idea giving viewers even more hor of a reason to click Mr Beast often combines the comparison and the money angle sfia niggard is combined the comprehensive and familiarity angles Jordan Welsh has found success mixing the time and transformation angles and combinations are nearly endless but before you get lost in the sauce of jamming as many

angles as humanly possible into a single idea consider the brand you want to build and the story you want to tell not every angle will fit with every Creator and every audience and every idea and that's okay just choose the one or two that enhances rather than dilutes or distracts from your chosen idea and your brand so as you can probably tell by now there are a lot of choices involved in the process of coming up with a killer idea there is a decision of what topic to pursue in the first place then there's a

choice of what format or for matat to present that topic through and finally the selection of an angle or two to apply to the whole thing so as you're sifting through the seemingly endless combinations how do you know which one to choose how do you know that you have a killer idea that's good enough to blow up your channel to evaluate the quality of their ideas the best YouTubers in the world run them through a series of six checks which brings us to the fourth and final step in our formula to come up with a

killer video idea to blow up your channel killer criteria it's time for the elimination trials prepare yourself it's about to get ruthless the first check is feasibility is this idea feasible is it possible for you to execute on this idea pretty straightforward but sometimes we can get a little bit carried away only to realize that we don't actually have $100,000 to spend on Burgers the next check gauges new audience interest if someone saw this video but had no idea who you are would they still be interested if not the video is very unlikely to blow

up the third check gauges existing audience interest will this idea be interesting to at least 80% of your existing audience we never want to get so focused on bringing in new viewers that we forget about our core Community next up is view potential does this idea have the potential to hit your view goal while this answer is typically informed by the topic validation stage you don't have to find proof of Prior success in order to say yes sometimes we take risks and that's okay but if even you don't believe in the ability of an idea

to hit your view goal it's unlikely to bring in the results that you want the fifth check is brand alignment does this idea fit within the brand of your channel if you're a newer YouTuber you may not have your brand Define yet and that's okay but if you are at that point make sure that you never chase reality so far that you abandon the mission and vision of your channel and finally the last check is package ability can you come up with a strong title and thumbnail for this idea in order for someone to watch

your video they have to click on it in the first place in the best YouTubers in the world value packaging so much that they'll scrap an entire idea if they can't come up with a clickable title and thumbnail first if you answer no to one of more of those questions either go back and make changes or scrap your idea completely I told you the elimination trials were ruthless but if your idea made it through the gauntlet unscathed it can Ascend to the promised land that is your idea short list this is a list of your

very best ideas the cream of the crop the ones with the highest potential to blow up and while you can't go wrong in choosing any of the ideas on your short list if you're having trouble picking rate each idea on a scale of 1 to 10 across three categories how excited you personally feel about the idea how much effort it would take you to execute on the idea and how confident you are in the potential performance of the idea this confidence is typically determined by how much proof of Prior success exists the more proof the

more confident you can be in an idea's potential performance with your ratings in place picking your next idea is as simple as taking stock of what's important to you at the moment if you're craving a spark of inspiration pick the idea you're most excited about if you want to give yourself a bit of a break pick the idea that requires the least effort and if you're really in need of a banger pick the idea you're most confident will succeed and that's how you come up with a killer video idea to blow up your channel I

know we've covered a lot in this video and for good reason ideas are both incredibly complex and Incredibly important and although I threw a lot at you today if there is anything to remember when coming up with a killer video idea to pull up your channel it's validate your base topic choose the format mix that best enables the value you want to provide to your viewers add angles to elevate interest and run through your checks to help you out you can even save this guide to reference every time you come up with a new idea

I also made a notion template that guides you through the complete ideation process so that you can more easily make a killer idea short list of your own I'll put links to all of that as well as a link to try one of 10 for 40% off which I highly recommend taking advantage of in the video description below and here's the thing everything I shared with you today was shared to help you come up with a killer video idea to blow up your channel but not all ideas need to have viral potential in order to

be worth making sometimes we can get so caught up in Frameworks and formulas that we lose sight of why we're making videos in the first place yes we're here because we want money and Views and success but most of us are also here because we want freedom and fun and the opportunity for self- expression and creativity the formula I shared with you today can be highly effective in making a banger video but it's also worth leaving space for other kinds of videos videos that are meant purely to connect with your existing audience on a deeper

level and videos that you want to make just for the heck of it because you have some crazy idea that you want to pursue regardless of how many views it might pull in and ultimately everything I laid out for you today is a game of Risk mitigation a game of putting as much work as possible into the pre-production of a video so that it has the highest likelihood of blowing up but some of the best performing ideas on YouTube came from Risky ideas ideas no one had ever seen or done before so if you're excited

to make a video it doesn't matter if the idea doesn't follow all the steps or fit all the criteria make it anyway not that you need my permission but make it anyway create the video do it just for you maybe it won't result in millions of views but who knows maybe it'll end up being the killer video idea that blows up your channel there's only one way to find out but whether you choose to follow the formula or decide to go Rogue coming up with a killer idea is only the first step in making a

killer video to blow up your channel after you have an idea you have to package it because regardless of how killer your idea is if you can't title a thumbnail up properly no one will click on it in the first place so to learn how to make a killer thumbnail to blow up your channel click here otherwise thank you so much for watching like And subscribe if you can keep creating and I'll see you in the next video we did it