Book SummaryYouTube Secrets, by Sean Cannell and Benji Travis

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of YouTube Secrets

In YouTube Secrets, prominent YouTubers Benji Travis and Sean Cannell share their formula for building a YouTube channel into a successful business. They emphasize that, although some channels have certainly benefited from starting in the early days of YouTube or having their videos go viral, you can still build a profitable channel today, even without exceptional innate talent, luck, or expensive videography equipment.

We’ve organized Travis and Cannell’s advice around three major themes: generating valuable content, building community, and developing revenue streams for your YouTube channel. We’ll also discuss advice from other books on starting a business or...

YouTube Secrets Summary Create Quality Content

According to Travis and Cannell, the most important thing you can do to build your YouTube business is to consistently post valuable content on your YouTube channel. In this section, we’ll discuss how to choose a theme for your channel and how to make videos that will deliver the value your channel needs to be successful.

Define Your Channel’s Value

Travis and Cannell advise that to consistently post valuable content on your channel, you need to start with a clear vision of what unique value you intend your channel to provide.

To identify what unique value you should focus on, they suggest thinking about the things that you are both passionate about and especially good at. Maybe you have a unique message that you want to convey, or you intend to cover a subject that nobody else is posting videos about. Or maybe you’ll make videos on a subject that already has a lot of videos and viewers, but you’ve got a unique presentation style that enables you to motivate or entertain your audience in ways that other channels don’t.

Value Innovation

When Travis and Cannell advise you to make videos that are worth watching, they are basically applying the concept of...

YouTube Secrets Summary Build a Community of Viewers

While it’s crucial to create quality content, content by itself is not enough to make your YouTube business successful. Travis and Cannell explain that you also need to build a community of dedicated viewers who are united by their common interest in your content. Depending on your content, you might build a community from scratch around a topic that wasn’t previously covered on YouTube, or you might gather a following within a unique niche of an existing community.

Either way, as you develop your vision for your channel and come up with ideas for videos, consider not only what types of value you can provide, but also who it’s for. The better you understand your audience, the better you’ll be able to create a sense of friendship with them in your videos.

Particularly if there’s already a community of people united by a common interest in your topic, Travis and Cannell say you should find out who their prominent influencers are—especially what other YouTube channels they already subscribe to. It’s also good to know how many of them there are, what their level of income is, and what kind of things they’re willing to spend money on, as this will help you identify which...

YouTube Secrets Summary Develop Your Revenue Streams

Travis and Cannell explain that in a YouTube business, revenue comes third, at least chronologically. First, you create valuable content. Then you build up a community around your content. The influence that you have over this community is what enables you to make money.

Once you have enough influence, there are several ways you can make money. Depending on the type of content you create and your community’s interests, some of them will be more viable than others. So focus on the ones that fit the best with your community and with your vision for your channel.

Google Adsense

Google Adsense is an algorithm that selects ads to display on YouTube videos, monitors how often they are viewed or clicked on, and bills the company running the ad accordingly. If your channel is enrolled in the YouTube Partner Program, Adsense also pays you a percentage of the money it collects from the ads that it runs on your videos. Your channel needs at least a thousand subscribers to be eligible for the Partner program.

(Shortform note: Not all videos that YouTube allows on their platform are eligible for Adsense monetization, even after your channel has been admitted to the Partner...

Shortform Exercise: Design Your YouTube Channel for Success

In this exercise, you’ll have a chance to apply Travis and Cannell’s advice to your own YouTube business.

What makes your videos unique, and how does that make them valuable to viewers? If you’re already running a YouTube channel and have a clear idea of the unique value you provide, describe it below. Otherwise, brainstorm a few ideas for the unique value that you could provide. Recall that anything you’re both good at and passionate about can be a good topic to build a channel around.