Chasing virality on YouTube will eventually kill your channel. I...
wono@wono_strategy
9 views
Mar 01, 2025
~5 min read
Advertisement
1
Chasing virality on YouTube will eventually kill your channel.
I made this mistake and learned it the hard way.
I've been a full-time creator for 8 years (and counting) thanks to audience building.
I share in this thread how I did it so you can avoid depression.
👇
I made this mistake and learned it the hard way.
I've been a full-time creator for 8 years (and counting) thanks to audience building.
I share in this thread how I did it so you can avoid depression.
👇
2
Forget views, forget subs, forget engagement.
Building an audience is all about catching attention and managing it.
It's about building a system that allows you to manage the attention of your viewers so you can leverage it to reach your goals.
Building an audience is all about catching attention and managing it.
It's about building a system that allows you to manage the attention of your viewers so you can leverage it to reach your goals.
3
Views, subs etc.. are proof of attention, not attention itself.
They are tools to help you measure the attention your content/channel earned, kept, or lost.
But first, let's start with the basics:
They are tools to help you measure the attention your content/channel earned, kept, or lost.
But first, let's start with the basics:
4
1. Attention Quality
This is the most important thing you must remember from this thread:
Not all viewers are equal.
Most creators tend to think that:
1 view = 1 view
This is the WORST belief you can have as a content creator.
Here's why:
This is the most important thing you must remember from this thread:
Not all viewers are equal.
Most creators tend to think that:
1 view = 1 view
This is the WORST belief you can have as a content creator.
Here's why:
5
When you build an audience, you have 4 kinds of viewers:
• Blue: they don't know your content exists
• Yellow: they've seen your content at least once
• Orange: watch your content regularly
• Red: die-hard fans, watch everything
(Or from cold to hot)
• Blue: they don't know your content exists
• Yellow: they've seen your content at least once
• Orange: watch your content regularly
• Red: die-hard fans, watch everything
(Or from cold to hot)
6
The attention (in itself) is the opposite:
It starts 🔴 (hot) but ends up 🔵 (cold) over time, as weeks pass unless your strategy to keep it red is strong.
It starts 🔴 (hot) but ends up 🔵 (cold) over time, as weeks pass unless your strategy to keep it red is strong.
7
The quality of attention varies from one viewer to another.
Red viewers watch more content and watch longer.
In the long run, 10 🔴 viewers will produce more watch time than 100 🔵 viewers.
Pareto's Law:
👉 80% of the results come from 20% of the viewers.
Red viewers watch more content and watch longer.
In the long run, 10 🔴 viewers will produce more watch time than 100 🔵 viewers.
Pareto's Law:
👉 80% of the results come from 20% of the viewers.
8
The goal when building an audience is to convert as many 🔵 → 🔴 viewers as possible.
BUT (and this is where most creators fail), it must be done so that 🔴 viewers are not lost in the process.
Optimizing too much for views will affect the audience (🔴 viewers).
BUT (and this is where most creators fail), it must be done so that 🔴 viewers are not lost in the process.
Optimizing too much for views will affect the audience (🔴 viewers).
9
2. Attention Management
When a blue viewer comes across your content and ends up hitting the subscribe button, he sends you a message:
👉 I enjoyed this video and would like to see more like this one.
At this point, he's yellow, not orange yet, with "red attention".
When a blue viewer comes across your content and ends up hitting the subscribe button, he sends you a message:
👉 I enjoyed this video and would like to see more like this one.
At this point, he's yellow, not orange yet, with "red attention".
10
To keep the attention red, you need a strategy to manage it.
The nightmare for a creator is to have a majority of yellow viewers, who turn into ghost subscribers over time (yellow viewers with blue attention).
Like here:
The nightmare for a creator is to have a majority of yellow viewers, who turn into ghost subscribers over time (yellow viewers with blue attention).
Like here:
11
3. Format
A format is a recipe (or a formula).
It is a structure of content with its codes, crafted so the viewer can know what to expect in the future.
This is by far the best way to sustain attention in the long run.
A format is a recipe (or a formula).
It is a structure of content with its codes, crafted so the viewer can know what to expect in the future.
This is by far the best way to sustain attention in the long run.
12
For example, MrBeast's format would be:
- Entertainment involving extreme challenges and a lot of money
- 10-15mn long on average
Dream:
- Finish Minecraft as fast as possible while hunters try to kill him
- 40-50mn on average
- Entertainment involving extreme challenges and a lot of money
- 10-15mn long on average
Dream:
- Finish Minecraft as fast as possible while hunters try to kill him
- 40-50mn on average
13
Casey Neistat:
- Vlogs with storytelling
- 5-10mn on average
elwono (one of my channels):
- Fun Dota 2 strategy with storytelling
- 20-30mn on average
- Vlogs with storytelling
- 5-10mn on average
elwono (one of my channels):
- Fun Dota 2 strategy with storytelling
- 20-30mn on average
14
The majority of successful channels have a specific format or farmed attention with one format.
It is a proven method that works at scale.
A format will grow your base audience organically while maintaining a viewer orange/red for as long as possible (years, not weeks).
It is a proven method that works at scale.
A format will grow your base audience organically while maintaining a viewer orange/red for as long as possible (years, not weeks).
15
When you build an audience:
👉 You are not looking to go viral at all costs, but to keep the ratio blue > red the highest possible.
Viral videos bring many blue viewers, and if your library can't convert them, they will end up being ghosts forever like here:
👉 You are not looking to go viral at all costs, but to keep the ratio blue > red the highest possible.
Viral videos bring many blue viewers, and if your library can't convert them, they will end up being ghosts forever like here:
16
Sure, it feels great for the ego to go viral and must be a part of your strategy, but not the priority.
You can trust me on this:
I have hundreds of viral videos, and what allowed me to survive 12 years on YouTube was not these videos.
You can trust me on this:
I have hundreds of viral videos, and what allowed me to survive 12 years on YouTube was not these videos.
17
You judge the health of an audience by its ability to convert blue viewers into orange/red.
I started "elwono" in mid-2019 and I applied most of my current knowledge about audience building.
It was built to maintain as many orange/red viewers as possible.
I started "elwono" in mid-2019 and I applied most of my current knowledge about audience building.
It was built to maintain as many orange/red viewers as possible.
18
Results 4 years later:
- 66 videos in total
- Average views: 532k
- Only 7/66 videos below 200k views
- None of the last 34 videos had less than 200k views (except the part.2 of a 568k video at 199k)
- 33/66 videos at 500k+
- 21/66 at 600k+
- 8/66 at 900k+
- 66 videos in total
- Average views: 532k
- Only 7/66 videos below 200k views
- None of the last 34 videos had less than 200k views (except the part.2 of a 568k video at 199k)
- 33/66 videos at 500k+
- 21/66 at 600k+
- 8/66 at 900k+
19
The goal of a format is to consolidate and grow the bottom of your views, not the top.
That's where you should focus 90% of your strategies because it means you're growing your base of red viewers.
That's where you should focus 90% of your strategies because it means you're growing your base of red viewers.
20
4. Be a long-term player
Youtube gurus are obsessed with views because they didn't experience the long-term game, failing to tell you that:
Attention is highly volatile & PERISHABLE.
You must NEVER forget that. Let me say it again: NEVER!!!
Youtube gurus are obsessed with views because they didn't experience the long-term game, failing to tell you that:
Attention is highly volatile & PERISHABLE.
You must NEVER forget that. Let me say it again: NEVER!!!
21
Farming red viewers take time.
Yes, going viral is cool, but if you have no strategy to keep them in the long run, the attention around your content will fade and produce ghost subs.
Give yourself at least a year to establish a solid foundation of red viewers.
Yes, going viral is cool, but if you have no strategy to keep them in the long run, the attention around your content will fade and produce ghost subs.
Give yourself at least a year to establish a solid foundation of red viewers.
22
Convert blue viewers, let them get used to your content, and be patient.
Farm them one red viewer at a time don't be in a rush especially if you're a small creator.
A library of the same format with a high reach & conversion rate will give you results you can't even fathom.
Farm them one red viewer at a time don't be in a rush especially if you're a small creator.
A library of the same format with a high reach & conversion rate will give you results you can't even fathom.
23
To sum it up:
1. Viewers are not equal, 🔴 viewers are the real deal
2. Build a strategy to farm 🔴 viewers
3. Craft a format to increase the conversion rate from 🔵 to 🔴 viewers
4. Play the long-term game with a compounding audience
1. Viewers are not equal, 🔴 viewers are the real deal
2. Build a strategy to farm 🔴 viewers
3. Craft a format to increase the conversion rate from 🔵 to 🔴 viewers
4. Play the long-term game with a compounding audience
24
These are just the basics, but hopefully they give you an idea of where to go now.
I will post more content like this in the future so subscribe to @wono_strategy if you want to see more.
Here is another thread you should be checking:
I will post more content like this in the future so subscribe to @wono_strategy if you want to see more.
Here is another thread you should be checking:
wono@wono_strategy
If you're a creator on YouTube not getting the views you want, it's not because:
- Your retention is bad
- Your thumbnail is bad
But because you do not understand "attention markets".
It took me 12 years to figure it out, but I'll explain it to you in 5 minutes 👇
- Your retention is bad
- Your thumbnail is bad
But because you do not understand "attention markets".
It took me 12 years to figure it out, but I'll explain it to you in 5 minutes 👇
