The Content Tactics Used by Mr Beast to Reach 86 Million YouTube Subscribers

With over 86 million subscribers and reported earnings of $3 million a month, Mr Beast is a huge YouTube star.

But how does he do it?

In this Growth Through Content article, you’ll learn:

  • The formula behind most of Mr Beast’s videos (that you can steal)
  • How to use frameworks like Mr Beast to generate more views for your content
  • And the Mr Beast approach you can apply to written content.

Let's dive in. 

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The Low-Resolution Viral Formula (That You Can Steal)

Mr Beast became huge after his ‘I counted to 100,000’ video was launched.

It’s generated 24 million views.

But why?

In the video, all he does is actually count to 100,000.

It’s something we can all do and yes, that’s all there is in the 24-hour long video.

Mr Beast counting out loud.

You’d be excused for thinking that humanity has lost the plot.

The thing is, Mr Beast has tapped into the power of effective messaging.

And that’s his secret.

For communication to cut through the noise and be effective, generally it must possess one or several of these elements:

  • Expense
  • Absurdity
  • Illogicality
  • Extravagance
  • Scarcity
  • Humour

And that’s the fuel behind almost all of his videos.

Like this one.

A video of him spending $1 million in just 24 hours.

And this one.

A video of him surviving 50 hours in a maximum security prison generated 81 million views.

The key here is that Mr Beast is doing what no rational person would do and, as a result, people are entertained.

So why do they subscribe?

Well, they don’t want to miss out on whatever he’s going to do next.

FOMO is real.

But sure, anyone can create effective messages. How does he get people to watch?

Well, it’s all about the title.

The Video Title Secrets of Mr Beast

Here are the titles of Mr Beast's most popular videos:

  • $456,000 Squid Game In Real Life!
  • I Spent 50 Hours In Solitary Confinement
  • I Ate A $70,000 Golden Pizza
  • I Spent 50 Hours Buried Alive
  • I Put 100 Million Orbeez In My Friend's Backyard

The thing that grabs the attention of the viewer is that every title and video subject makes the viewer say:

“What the ####, I want to see that”

But these titles are wrapped around a series of core frameworks he seems to use all of the time.

1. High Stakes Content

"Last to leave $800,000 Island keeps it" = 101 million views.

"Last to fall wins $100,000 dollars" = 75 million views.

2. Giving Content

"I broke into a house and left $50,000" = 64 million views.

"Giving 10,000 Presents to Kids for Christmas" = 43 million views.

3. Survival Content

"Surviving 24 Hours Straight In A Desert" = 80 million views.

"Surviving 24 Hours Straight In A Rainforest" = 66 million views.

4. "I Did" Content

"I Spent $30,000 On Lottery Tickets And Won" = 16 million views.

"I Ate $100,000 Golden Ice Cream" = 79 million views.

But there’s more to this than just titling; these videos create a cycle of continued viewership, and it’s all around the type of content he creates.

In a nutshell, Mr Beast entertains people.

So how can you steal this?

Build Content Frameworks for Higher Views

If you want to succeed online and on YouTube, the trick is to look for frameworks that allow rapid growth.

And it's pretty easy to do.

Head over to YouTube and go to their list of trending videos.

Start watching some videos, and try to notice patterns in the way they are put together.

And this is important: write them down so you don't forget.

Not all frameworks will work for your content or distribution method, but the more frameworks you have in your standard toolkit, the higher the chances of success.

But you want to look at the content and see what framework is behind it.


Here's an example.

This vlogger uses surprise as a framework.

The reason people love it is because it's rare to see something like this on the internet, and honestly, they're not expecting it.

For example, here's some Mr Beast type content using the 'surprise' framework:

"I Surprised a Children's Hospital Ward with 10,000 New Toys".
"Surprise: I Shocked a Homeless Man By Giving Him a Mansion".

You can see that this type of framework is successful because it doesn't happen very often, people are surprised and then they share it with their friends or family, leading to more views.

OK, I know what you're thinking… "I write content, I don't make videos".

Well, here's how you can apply the Mr Beast approach to your content.

How to Create Written Content (the Mr Beast Way)

Step 1: Have a Title That Makes People Say "What the ####, Tell Me More"

As we mentioned earlier, the title of your piece is probably the most important factor in getting people to read it.

If you want more views, clicks and shares, then A/B test titles until you're confident that you've created one that will perform.

But there are some things you can do to make an impact.

Here are some examples.

"This Man Stole Millions Of Dollars From The World's Biggest Company And All He Got Was 18 Months In Jail".
"How I Became An Expert (insert job) After Only 20 Hours of Study".

By using the first headline, people instantly want to know how he stole money from a company and why he only got 18 months in jail.

And the second headline grabs your attention because most people think you have to work for years, studying full time, to become an expert on a topic.

Step 2: Have Custom Images

Generally, we are quite lazy when it comes to blog post images. But look at how Mr Beast uses images.

If you saw this you'd want to click it.

So try to choose your blog content images using the same approach.

Step 3:  Make the Content Entertaining from the First Scan

People scan-read.

We know this thanks to eye-tracking studies, so don't create content that looks awful.

It must look interesting and worth reading from the first scan.

To do this, add eye-catching images and create unique, catchy sub-headers so that the reader would be able to tell the story of the blog post, just from a scan.

This is known as information scent.

The reader is looking at the content and judging to see whether it’s worth their cognitive resources.

Of course, you need to write great content, but that's a story for another day.

Final Thoughts

Mr Beast knows a lot about content creation that you can steal, but the internet is full of examples like that. 

This is why I urge marketers to study the internet and not just consume it.

Look at content with an enquiring mind and you'll soon pick up tips.

The way Mr Beast uses stories and frameworks in his content is great, but he’s not the only one doing it.

Analyse other content creators and see what you can learn from them.

Thanks for reading.

Andrew

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posted January 6, 2022

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