When inspiration strikes your creative mind and you must share it with the world, you can safely assume many have enjoyed the same stroke of brilliance. So how can you find an audience amongst such competition? One possibility is to follow the wise advice of Stephen Sondheim:
You gotta get a gimmick if you wanna get ahead.
While quality content will always be king, a bit of uniqueness will help you stand out on the horizon.
Examples to follow include the highly successful Cooking with Dog, Epic Rap Battles of History and Kurzgesagt - In a Nutshell.
Cooking with Dog boasts over 1.5 million subscribers in a cramped field of cooking shows where few will ever find their way to massive success. The unnamed chef cooks Japanese style dishes and only speaks Japanese. That’s a hard recipe for finding a global audience.
But, the chef with no name is joined by an easy to love canine companion who translates the culinary instructions in English with a strange French accent. Combining all those ingredients creates an enjoyable and unique viewing experience for wannabe cooks and non cooks alike.
Next, history is a topic too many have relegated to the forgotten lessons of our past school days. But, through the magic of YouTube, history comes alive via the highly entertaining creations of Epic Rap Battles of History.
The musical battles comprised of historical figures and events are followed by over 14 million subscribers. A pair of talented hosts have garnered enough attention to be joined by celebrities such as Keegan Michael Key, Jordan Peele and Snoop Dog to name a few.
By pitting historical figures such as Teddy Roosevelt and Winston Churchill against each other in a lyrical argument of accomplishments, the creators have blown past the field of history buff video makers to transcend the topic, and reach a huge audince.
Lastly, how does one create a successful niche amongst the countless science channels? Why not use cute little animated birds to act out your simple explanations of complex topics such as, How Wormholes Work or The Origin of Consciousness? Do it well and your channel may be as successful as the unpronounceable, Kurzgesagt - In a Nutshell, which educates its 11.8 million subscribers with a dry humor and a little birdie gimmick.
Done well, gimmicks compliment the host's personality and subject. They allows creators to be unique even when the topic isn’t. They allow people who thought they have no interest in your subject to think again.
If you want to get more views on YouTube then make sure to download vidIQ. Over 1 million creators use vidIQ to help with keyword and competitor research, channel audits, and so much more. Click here to install now for free!
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Michael is a freelance writer who’s topics have covered the gamut of human interest and taken him on travels through three continents. While traveling through Thailand in 2008, during the monsoon season, he discovered his love of YouTube when in desperate need of entertainment he could understand
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