MrBeast is only 23 years old but already has 12 years of experience on YouTube.

This is what creator excellence looks like.

“Somehow I found these other four lunatics, three of us were college dropouts, one was a high school dropout, and one just quit his job. We were all super small YouTubers and we basically talked every day for a thousand days in a row and did nothing but just hyper study what makes a good video, what makes a good thumbnail, what good pacing is like, how to go viral. We would call it daily masterminds. We would get on Skype every morning.  Some days I’d get on Skype at 7am and I’d be in the call until 10 pm and then I go to bed I wake up and I do it again.”

“We all had like 10,000 to 20,000 subscribers when we met and by the time we stopped talking we all had millions of subscribers.”

via @davidperrell

“In 2018, the blog made over $30,000. In 2019, it made over $70,000. Then, in 2020, when everyone was suddenly stuck at home, his traffic exploded. He was making more than enough money to quit his job. “

Jake McNeill shares his experiences on what it takes to get your content shared. Read the full article! I love Jake’s writing style.

► Find a popular topic you want to write about
► Read the top 10 results on Google. Chances are they’re all saying the same thing and using the same language
► Do the opposite. Stand out in saturated markets by doing the opposite of what the market is doing.
► Combine your concept with other viral/successful ideas to create something new
► Use thought experiments/ prompts to create a tone/ style that stands: “What do people want to say but daren’t?!”
► Use Professor Jonah Berger’s principles of virality
► Create with empathy and without ego ( the former is easy, the latter is very difficult)
► Use thought experiments/ prompts to generate empathy “ What truths can I write that will help the reader feel understood?”
► Promote your work far and wide
► Know that almost everything you create will NOT have an impact and learn to be okay with that 🙂
► Cross your fingers and hope for the fucking best

Related Link:
Sahil Bloom also has an article this week on this exact topic.

20 ways to expand your luck surface area & create more luck

“Want to know how to monetize your expertise? These six questions will help you figure out how to create value for customers and yourself.”

Big Idea: Developing specialized expertise is a critical component to becoming a successful entrepreneur. Very few are willing to invest the time to develop this level of expertise.

Cal Newport calls this building “rare and valuable skills.”

Jay Clouse on how to get more subscribers.

► Build an Inviting Front Door
► Never Stop Adding Side Doors
► Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
► Keyword Research
► Competitive Research
► Outlines and writing
► Reach the High Bar of Shareability
► Don’t Rule Out Paid Acquisition

Related video:

Ann Handley shares her advice from growing her Total Annarchy newsletter to over 50k subscribers.

Very interesting article.

What approach are you taking to grow your audience?

1. The Signature – focus on a signature achievement, recognizable expertise, or persona
2. The Show – create something you’re known for and that can be consumed by or engaged with others
3. The Stunt – a PR-worthy activity that captures the spirit of what your brand is all about
4. The Machine – It’s a workhorse approach, that believes sweat and consistency pay off.
5. The Team – Don’t go it alone. Instead, team up with folks who are complementary and collaborative.

via @fortheinterested

Alex Llull publishes The Steal Club creator-focused newsletter. Alex breaks down the tactics and strategies of the best creators, so you can ‘steal’ them for your own creator journey.

The Steal Club is one of the best-designed newsletters I subscribe to. It’s so clean and easy to read. Subscribe and you’ll see what I mean. I love how Alex uses a single color on Twitter and in his newsletter to stand out.

Here is a selection of the best links I’ve found this week to level up your creator skills.

4 Tips to Make Money Outside of YouTube Like Roberto Blake -vidiq via @creatorbread

Pricing Psychology: A list of pricing techniques – nickkolenda via @initiatorcreator

Internal Linking is Super Critical For SEO – searchenginejournal

51 Powerful Instagram Marketing Tips To Boost Your Instagram Presence – socialpilot

Free Product Hunt Launch Kit – producter

6 Tests You Should Run on Your Newsletter – jenslennartsson

Death To Affiliate Marketing  moneylab via @ebizfacts

6 steps to a $90,351 online course launch – justinwelsh