If I ask you, what is the most important factor to bring views on a video, what would your answer be? Perhaps you would say a clickable title and thumbnail to get a high click-through rate (CTR), and engaging editing for high viewer retention. Well, these things are essential, but there's something even more crucial than these, and that is the idea of the video.
No matter how good a video's thumbnail, editing, or voiceover may be, if the video idea is boring, then views won't come. On the flip side, videos with ordinary thumbnails, beginner-level editing, and average audio quality go viral on YouTube every day. Why?
Because of a Killer Video Idea. But the problem is that finding good video ideas is not an easy task. Good ideas may come to mind once or twice, but not repeatedly!
What to do. . .
So in today's video, I'll tell you my top 4 favorite methods to come up with unlimited viral video ideas. Method no. 1 & method no.
4 are my favorites. Starting with Method no. 1: Stealing Ideas Don't get misled by the name; this is actually one of the most popular ways to find amazing ideas.
Basically, you need to go to YouTube and find some random videos that are either viral or you have recently watched or just watch your favorite creator's videos. Now all you have to do is take inspiration from these videos. Get inspired by their format and take ideas.
For example, while scrolling on YouTube, I came across this video: "Asking Millionaires how to make 1 million dollars. " It's a very simple topic but very powerful. So, I can take inspiration from this topic and create a video idea for my channel like "Asking Big Youtubers how to Get 1M subscribers" or "Asking Big Youtubers for their best YouTube advice.
" There you go, 2 video ideas came instantly. Initially, it doesn't matter if that video is easy to make or not, just keep writing ideas. Later on, you might get 2-3 more ideas related to that initial one, which you might like even more.
Another example is from Matt D'Avella: "6 things I wish I knew at 20. " This is also a great video idea from which I can take inspiration and create a video idea for my channel like "6 things I wish I knew when starting a YouTube Channel. " Similarly, Ali Abdaal's video "how to manage your time as a student" can inspire me to create a video on my channel like "How to manage your time as a YouTuber.
" Considering that most young YouTubers find it challenging to manage YouTube along with school or college, if I can make such a video, chances are I'll get a lot of views. Iman Gadzhi's video "5 Traits of the top 1% man" can inspire me to create "5 Traits of the top 1% YouTuber," simple! These are just some examples that I have used for my channel, but I'm sure that you might also be coming up with 1-2 ideas for your channel along with me.
Let's take one more example: "5 Common Mistakes beginners make in chess. " This is a very common video format that can be applied to various niches like "5 mistakes new YouTubers make," "5 mistakes to avoid when dribbling," "5 mistakes that make you a noob in free fire," "5 big mistakes all self-taught guitarists make," and so on. .
. And yes, it's not always necessary to just take inspiration; you can go to other channels in your niche and look for videos where you can provide extra information or improvise in your own style, and you'll have even more ideas. Moving on to Method no.
2: YouTube Search Let's take gaming channels as an example since they receive a lot of comments. If you have a Free Fire gaming channel, you can go to YouTube search and type "Free Fire. " If you have a particular topic in mind related to the game on which you want to create a video, you can search for that specific topic.
Otherwise, just type a random letter like "B" and see the suggestions that come up, such as "Free Fire best settings," "Free Fire best character," "Free Fire best sensitivity," etc. These are broad topics that people are searching for, so we need to narrow it down further. Let's say I select "Free Fire best settings," and then I find more related suggestions like "Free Fire best settings for headshots," "Free Fire best settings for 2 finger, 3 finger, control, custom HUD," and more.
You can add all these suggestions to your video idea list. This method is helpful because we are targeting topics with high search volume and comparatively lower competition. You can do the same for any niche.
For example, a cooking channel can search for "Cold coffee recipe" and find more video ideas from related suggestions. But if this method doesn't work for you, you can try Method no. 3: YouTube Comments.
The comment section on YouTube is one of the best places to know what people want to see or don't want to see. It's a straightforward way to know what viewers are interested in. If your channel has a decent audience, you can check your video comments for suggestions.
Otherwise, you can explore the comment section of bigger channels in your niche. You'll often find viewers requesting videos on specific topics that the channel's creator hasn't covered yet or hasn't been able to do for some reason. For example, on my channel, viewers often request voiceover and voice editing topics, which means it's a topic in demand.
If any other YouTuber in my niche creates a video on that topic and it's genuinely good, it's likely to get a lot of views. So explore the comment section of other creators to find some treasure and get ideas for viral videos. If this method doesn't work for your niche, you can try Method no.
4: Creating an Audience Profile. For this, take a pen and paper and create a list where you jot down information about your target audience. Write down what excites them, the problems they face, their dreams, goals, fears, and the questions they have.
When you have this information, you'll have many video ideas coming to you. For instance, when I created my audience profile, I wrote down that my target audience is excited about growing quickly on YouTube. So, I knew that if I make a video about getting 10K subscribers with only 7 videos, it would have potential as it addresses their excitement.
Similarly, when you create a list of fears your audience has, you can generate video ideas that target those fears directly. For example, a fear of a channel dying out, fear of choosing the wrong settings while uploading a video, fear of running out of video ideas, or even just the fear of starting a YouTube channel. You can see how easily you can create video ideas from these points.
In fact, these videos have a higher chance of going viral since they directly target a basic human emotion like fear. These are the methods I use to brainstorm ideas, but your thinking process might be different, so go ahead and explore. Now that I have shared all four methods with you, I want to know which one is your favorite.
Also, if you have a great video idea, but you struggle to create a good thumbnail, it might hinder the video's success. Thumbnails are crucial, so if you want to learn how to make great thumbnails, check out the Thumbnail Masterclass for a detailed explanation. So yeah, I'll meet you there, bye!