Framework
Time in an underserved market beats time in a hot one
Colin refines 'time in market' to 'time in an underserved market': MrBeast reached out because they kept covering the creator economy when no one else gave it the time of day, so they became the default place creators turned to.
“I would add too that it's, it's time in underserved market because, you know, the reason that Jimmy or MrBeast even reached out to us is because no one was really talking about creators or about the YouTube space for a long period of time. And we continued to talk about it while no one really was giving it the time of day.”
Steal thisCover an underserved niche before the tourists arrive; you earn the respect and inbound that latecomers can't buy.
Tactic
Reverse-engineer winners: search, sort by most viewed, study the gap
Colin's market-research move for any niche: search the topic on YouTube, sort by most-viewed to find the million-view videos, then make sure your title and thumbnail are sensational AND that the video actually meets the expectation the click sets.
“A lot of times we tell creators, you know, if there's something you want to talk about, search it into YouTube, sort by most viewed and see what are the videos that are getting a million views.”
Steal thisSearch your topic, sort by most viewed, and dissect what's already winning before you film a frame.
Story
Slow Mo Guys: language-free video that prints global ad dollars
Colin marvels at channels like the Slow Mo Guys where there's no need for language, so videos get rewatched worldwide regardless of tongue, letting YouTube place ads in every market and generating outsized advertising revenue.
“I'm always amazed by channels like the Slow Mo Guys where there's literally no need for language. It's just the visual of something happening in slow motion. And the viewership is so high because those videos can be watched again and again and again all over the world, no matter what language you speak, that YouTube can place ads globally in every market.”
Steal thisMake language-agnostic visual content so a single video monetizes across every global market at once.