The YouTube Formula

20Tweaking Your Content

We've talked about how to create engaging content, good thumbnails and titles, and how to get your video on YouTube. In Chapter 19, we went over practices to optimize and promote your video. Now you're ready to learn what to do after your video hits the shelf. Do you know what to do if your video is underperforming? Do you even know how to tell if it's underperforming besides views? What if it's taking off? How do you respond?

I've said it a thousand times: you have to analyze and adjust; analyze and adjust. In theory, this means you have to improve your content. In practice, it means you look at the data in your YouTube analytics and see what is going on and what you actually can do about it. You have to assess your progress. This is true for every single YouTube channel, no matter how big or small or old or new. This is where the rubber meets the road with everything you've learned in this book.

Certain content is good at gaining new subscribers, other content is good at retaining subscribers, and some content is good for both subscribers and nonsubscribers. Figure out which kind of content you're dealing with and who it's geared toward to know which tweak to make when it underperforms. For example, I was at a private retreat in Las Vegas with MrBeast and other data‐driven creators. We were talking about MrBeast's content and his viewers. I asked him which videos he enjoyed making the most, and he said he liked the videos where he helped people in ...