How Ryan Trahan Got 1000% More Views (Genius Strategy)

[00:01] subscribers to one of the fastest growing channels on youtube ryan trahan originally started off making content around his career as a college athlete but then shot to fame in 2018 when he started pulling millions of views on

[00:13] started pulling millions of views on videos like these but one year ago ryan hit a major problem his growth had completely dried up in the months of november and december 2020 he was actually losing subscribers and his

[00:26] crack 500k he looked like another victim of the infamous youtube downward spiral where you blow up peak and start to fall off but a year later the complete opposite has happened ryan has managed to 10x his

[00:41] average views per video and more than double his subscriber count getting 3 million in one year what did he discover here well it turns out this 23 year old from texas knows something most people don't about youtube in january of last

[00:55] year he started implementing a three-step formula to create viral videos every single time so let's break it down this video here and i'm going to show you how ryan has managed to combine

[01:08] retention tactics from both mr beast and emma chamberlain but we need to start with step number one ryan discovered the key to high potential ideas we can see this by comparing ryan's last video of 2020 to his first video of 2021 the most

[01:24] obvious difference is the view count but when you look further they are actually two completely different strategies this video is what i like to call a maintenance video it's in vlog format and it's completely focused on his life

[01:37] ryan his friend and his wedding are the main subjects for the video if you don't know ryan why would you click even the language is tailored for returning viewers he starts out by assuming you already know about his wedding as you

[01:49] guys know i'm getting married i know but i don't have a best man yet on youtube you can break viewership up into three sections core audience casual audience and new viewers maintenance videos like this only really appeal to

[02:02] the core audience and some of the casuals this on the other hand is what i like to call a growth video and it has four main traits the subject is not a personality in this case the subject is the world's smallest airbnb that's the

[02:17] reason you're going to click not for ryan this gives the video broad interest it's designed to be interesting to new viewers it's also in the format of a challenge which adds to the intrigue how can he live overnight in such a small

[02:30] airbnb this instantly poses a story the fourth trait is it has novelty and shock value it's not every day you see this on your feet now i've just used four points to describe this specific video

[02:43] but these same traits apply to every single video ryan has made since you see the huge dip he experienced at the end of 2020 was during a period where he was uploading back-to-back maintenance videos there's probably only one or two

[02:56] videos on screen right now that would be interesting to a new viewer from an algorithmic perspective youtube rewards people who can consistently bring in new switching to only making growth videos made it easier for ryan to build serious

[03:09] momentum however we all know youtube isn't as simple as that lots of people have good ideas not very many people grow as quickly as ryan so i decided to dig deep into the actual content and i was actually really

[03:22] surprised with what i found which takes us on to step 2 ryan has a genius retention strategy pretty much every video ryan makes is filled with comments we know the algorithm loves videos that keep people watching from beginning to

[03:36] end so what is ryan doing that's so special well his strategy is to blend multiple styles of content together this video is optimized and fast-paced like a personal and relationship based like an

[03:50] emma chamberlain video he mixes retention tactics with humor and does this in action i don't think you realize how crazy the world's quietest room really is apparently 30 minutes inside will drive you completely insane

[04:03] don't believe that i think that's baloney i think that is a large pile of a meat like substance this is an intro master class the first thing he does is instantly reaffirm the click he shows you pretty much the exact

[04:16] image in the thumbnail right away why well the time when the biggest percentage of people click off a video is in the first few seconds by showing exactly what you clicked for this can help alleviate the falloff also notice

[04:29] how he doesn't use any fluffy language like welcome back or anything like that you shouldn't be personal it's the intro you need to hook the viewer's attention right away ryan also sets the stakes he mentions that 30 minutes inside the

[04:44] quiet room supposedly drives you insane and then goes on to say he believes that's a myth he instantly gives the video a why this is a very optimized start but then he lets his personality show in his editing i traveled all the

[04:57] way from texas to minnesota yeah i'm committed to break the record for the longest time spent in the world's quietest room 45 minutes is a man named steve steve warfield of warfield laboratories i'm scared of this

[05:10] does he send two word response emails sounds like the place a demogorgon would be hiding in the next season of stranger be hiding in the next season of stranger things

[05:24] white t-shirt and black gym shorts as simple as the previous 20 seconds might seem this is perfect youtube storytelling first of all it's low production value intentionally the audience on youtube don't really care

[05:38] about fancy transitions or text effects it feels more relatable when someone uses a font like this his delivery is also pretty mellow he sounds like a normal person which adds to this relatability also notice how it

[05:52] is pretty much non-stop talking data shows us that video footage with talking holds viewers attention better i guess it's harder to click off a video when someone is mid-sentence the really smart thing he does though is use humor in

[06:04] contributing moments what i mean by this is his humor is tied into the overall story for example when he introduces steve important to the story he could have tried to make a funny moment out of a

[06:18] distracting from the storyline and not contributing to it hand and gets straight into the quiet room he immediately reminds the viewers of the challenge he has to beat so according to the internet the world

[06:32] 41 minutes in this room world's quietest room if i keep making noise so let the games begin something pretty interesting silence is louder than the last time i told my dad

[06:48] i didn't like his pork chops and that was some loud silence and steve thinks he knows why i didn't like those pork chops everything that stimulates you masks everything else that stimulates

[07:02] you so for example if you go into a noisy bar the hamburger doesn't taste so good the beer doesn't taste as good if you go into a quiet bar more out of them because your brain

[07:14] think about it i was definitely on my phone while eating that pork chop and i appreciate the flavor this is a really clever way of building rapport with the audience he presents a relatable situation but here's the key

[07:29] video some people worry that youtube is getting too optimized and that there's no room for personal connection make it happen relationship building shouldn't feel

[07:41] like a tangent or a disruption it should be woven into the storyline this same storyline is revisited towards the end of the video

[07:58] but we haven't even talked about what i believe made the biggest difference which takes us on to step three of the formula becoming a clickbait master his thumbnails that make them irresistible to click the first trait is

[08:12] room doesn't look anywhere near as interesting as this but at the end of the day if you still deliver in the video the viewer won't feel lied to clickbait by exaggerating but still delivering is the new meta you'll also

[08:25] notice ryan is brilliant at using contrasting colors in this thumbnail the bright orange of the jumpsuit heavily contrasts against the black background you can also see with this white against green and blue against brown ryan knows

[08:38] people glance at thumbnails in milliseconds contrasting colors grab the eye he almost always shows some form of action in this case he's almost bent over in pain and is pressing his hands against his ears this perfectly

[08:51] complements the title imagine how boring this thumbnail would be if it was ryan smiling and pointing at the room he wants to let the viewer know he's attempting something extreme and this action backs it up

[09:03] he also is very effective at using text just like the contrasting colors this draws your focus as you're scrolling by and just like the action it can be used to reinforce the storyline or challenge text in the thumbnail should be short

[09:16] preferably under four words and it must add more intrigue not just repeat the title like this which is far less interesting ryan uses these four factors in pretty much all his thumbnails now he also invented his own style for his

[09:30] money challenges which have inspired thumbnails all across youtube speaking of money making my first one dollar on the internet was one of the most important moments of my life so i've got a challenge for you to do the same that

[09:42] could win you 500 which brings me on to today's video sponsor shopify the best place to start selling online the biggest reason most online stores fail is because they never start

[09:55] so i timed myself setting up this shopify store to sell photos of my dog seven minutes in the time it takes to watch a youtube video i now officially have an online store so here's the challenge first

[10:09] start a shopify store using the link below then make just one dollar or more selling a product of your choice whether it be a photo t-shirt or maybe just a digital product then screenshot the sale and tag me on my twitter account

[10:23] give them 500 the best part is you can use the link in the description below to get a free 14-day trial to shopify so in as little online for free i hope you learned a thing or two from

[10:36] this video ryan truly is one of the best creators on the platform right now i'll also be giving another 500 to someone who subscribes in the next seven days but for now youtube thinks you'll like this video next let's see if they're

[10:49] this video next let's see if they're right