There are 2 ways to do YouTube Automation.
Building Channels & Building Brands.
One makes you rich, the other makes you wealthy.
Both have pros and cons, but most people shouldn’t be building brands.
Here’s why:
Building Channels - “The Rich Way”
Arbitrage opportunities in supply & demand
Taking advantage of trends
Quantity>Quality
How to do this:
Find a trending topic, or a gap in the market and start your channel, focus on posting videos often, replicate what's working for others, and try to do it better than them.
Your biggest competitive advantage with these videos is the topic itself.
Pros:
Lower video costs
Easier to start
You make a ton of money quickly (if you know what you’re doing)
You make some money (even if you don’t know what you’re doing as the demand for this content outweighs your lack of skill)
Cons:
Worse longevity than building brands
Harder to sell products/do sponsorships
These channels are better suited for beginners, if you pick the right niche you have momentum on your side, there's already a lot of interest in the topic you're covering and your content fulfills that interest.
Running these channels is a hustle, but it's fun if you love it.
You still need high-quality content, incredible scripting, and editing…but it's mostly the topic and the packaging that carries the channel.
These can be turned into brands over time, especially if you become the niche leader.
Example: Crime Scene Cam
Jumped on the bodycam trend early → Supply/Demand
Focused on picking dramatic topics, packaging them in a clickable way
Got 58m views in 10 months
Building Brands - “The Wealthy Way”
Pick a big niche, outcompete everyone on quality
Documentary-style videos
Quality > Quantity
How to do this:
Find an evergreen niche with broad appeal, then simply come in and improve the existing quality within that niche by at least 20%.
Think documentaries, educational videos, $1k+ per video production.
This is much more complex than starting a regular automation channel, that's why I wouldn't recommend this to beginners.
Your topics and packaging are still extremely important, but your biggest competitive advantage is how well-produced your videos are.
Scripts that rely more on storytelling than hooks & drama, $500+ edits with animations, hiring sound engineers…Simply doing anything to make sure the quality is a 10/10.
These channels don't just get views, they build audiences for the long term.
Pros:
Compounding - these are brands you want to grow for 3-10 years
Stronger bond with the audience - better for brand deals/own products
Less competition due to higher costs & skill barrier
Cons:
10x more expensive than your regular automation channels
Require more skill, if you don't know what you're doing, you'll lose thousands of dollars
If you're a beginner, forget about brands, and spend at least 6-12 months only building channels.
You will:
Make money to put into more channels & brands
Build skillsets you can use for more channels & brands
Your mistakes (choosing bad topics, having bad teams) will be 10x cheaper
But once you get some experience under your belt, you should start building brands. It is the pinnacle of YouTube Automation.
Once it starts working, it just keeps getting better and better with time.
Example: Beginning To Now
Picked a broad niche - history
Quality innovated with 1-2 hour long documentaries
Built an audience of 60k+ with only 5.7M views
Both have their advantages & disadvantages.
That's why I am doing both.
I am building channels because there's a ton of money to be made by supplying gaps in supply/demand, plus I genuinely enjoy the hustle of it. Spotting opportunities, and using my skills to outcompete others in that niche. Dominating.
But in 2024, I will be starting a couple of Brands too. It is the sensible thing to do. The payoff is not as huge for the first year or two, but owning 3-5 successful YouTube brands can set you up for life.
“Do you have a course?” & “Can you coach me?” is what my inbox looks like on Twitter.
I don't have a course and I have been rejecting coaching. I'd rather be building my channels, I don't need the coaching money.
But I've decided to create an application form for coaching, not saying this to create “scarcity” but I will likely be saying no to 90% of the applicants.
I'm only looking for a couple of entrepreneurs to coach 1-1, someone who is driven & genuinely passionate about the game of YouTube. I want exceptional student results & to build an inner network of successful channel owners.
This is not a course, this is 1-1 personally tailored for you. You will not be a number on the screen like you are for most course creators, you will be a genuine growth partner of mine.
If you are serious about making $50k+ in 2024 through YouTube & have at least $3-$5k to invest. Here’s the application form.
Don't apply unless you are a high-agency operator, the extra money for selling my knowledge is nice, but this is mostly about the network I manage to build up. If you have the money & ambition, I'd love to have you along for the journey,
Jan
