MrBeast: 22 Years Old Who Made $24 Million from YouTube In A Year
The boy who counted to 100,000
It was only a month back when Forbes published its list of the top-earning YouTube stars of 2020.
(Here’s the full list of Forbes’ estimated top-earning YouTube stars of 2020)
YouTube’s celebrities brought in over $200 million, a 30% jump from the year 2019. The list consisted of many known faces like Jeffree Star, Dude Perfect, Rhett and Link, and Ryan Kaji. But the names which shook it all were Blippi (Stevin John) with $17 million, David Dobrik with $15.5 million, and MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson) with a whopping $24 million.
MrBeast aka Jimmy Donaldson is the same kid who, in 2016, was recording himself in his bedroom with his iPhone 5 and couldn’t even afford a tripod. But today, the kid has the world’s fastest-growing channel in YouTube history, which has broken all past records.
Every video which MrBeast uploaded in 2020 gained over 30 million views.
How?
How a creator who was standing at 2 million subscribers in the year 2018, ended up standing at a massive 50 million subscribers milestone at the end of 2020.
How did he grow that much, that fast?
What does MrBeast knows that the other YouTube creators don’t?
In this article, I’m going to break down the key lesson which you can apply to your YouTube marketing strategies. And if you follow the principle which MrBeast used, you too can achieve those numbers in no time.
The Growth
First, let’s take a closer look at the numbers.
Jimmy started his channel MrBeast6000 on Feb 21, 2012 with a video titled as “Worst Minecraft Saw Trap Ever???”
Exactly after 2 years and 2 months — on April 14, 2014 — he had 1,003 subscribers, which at that time was a great deal for him.
And exactly after 2 years and 2 months — on July 09, 2016 — he had 100,000 subscribers, which is still a great deal for every YouTuber.
Then after next 2 years — in January, 2018 — he had 2 million subscribers.
Till now everything was normal, he was growing at an average pace. The way every YouTuber does.
But in the next 2 years, between 2018 and the end of 2020, he changed it all.
He not only evolutionized the format of his content, but also managed to brought himself to the 50 million mark, which ranked MrBeast one among the top creators on the platform.
So what did he actually do?
MrBeast Built A Monopoly On YouTube.
People still don’t like to admit that YouTube is a competitive market. The fact is, not only big and small but even top creators are competing with each other to have their viewer’s time and attention. The only way to stand out as a creator is by having a USP or unique selling point.
The creator has to offer something different, which only they could provide and others can’t. That’s the only way for being ahead of the curve.
But as because of the level of competition on the platform, every new idea gets replicated, which eventually leads to saturation and fewer results for everyone.
But that’s not the case with MrBeast. As when it comes to traditional monopoly, the fundamental says the easier your idea is, the more competitors you would have. In the case of MrBeast, his ideas are extremely difficult, pretty much impossible, to replicate, thus it creates a YouTube monopoly.
His format of high budget and high effort videos creates a clear barrier to entry. But if you still wanna replicate them, you need to be a multi-millionaire with a team of 100+ people, yes, you need to.
Sending photos out on the moon can’t be done in a $100,000 budget.
Right now, MrBeast owns the market, as he has found a format of content where he has virtually no competition. His Viral-Video-Making-Machine format has allowed him to be on top of the trending page, every time.
And this is that “something” which happened between 2018 and 2020, which changed it all for MrBeast.
Personality Matters The Most
Except for his high budget-viral videos, it was MrBeast’s genuinely positive personality, which helped him grow that much. Even after all the toxic environment of YouTube where everyone is trying to bring others down, MrBeast proved that being likable and positive could lead you to the very top of the platform.
This is also the reason why more and more people are supporting MrBeast and his purpose, not only by watching his content or subscribing to him but also by funding his huge ideas by buying his merchandise. Because that makes them feel that in one or another way they are making someone’s life better.
And as the saying goes,
Sometimes to make more money, you’ve got to think about more than just money
MrBeast is a living proof of it.
Understanding The Algorithm
At the end of the day, the key is understanding the power of the “monopoly market” model.
Even in the days of coal and bread, companies who had the monopoly in market, made the most dollars. Look what amazon is up to, for instance, or Tesla. They have monopoly, and that’s why their shares are sky-rocketing.
Switch on your creative mode, and think, how can you create a monopoly on YouTube. Maybe the next viral video making-machine could be one among you.
