How Dead Authors Can Save Your YouTube Channel

Your favorite creator just dropped another viral hit. But here's what you're missing: the real magic happened hours before they hit record.

The idea was everything.

While most creators pour their hearts into perfecting their equipment, editing skills, and on-camera presence, the biggest names on YouTube obsess over something completely different. They've cracked a code that separates the one-hit wonders from the consistent hitmakers, and it has nothing to do with being a creative genius.

Picture this: you spend days scripting the perfect video, hours shooting with your best camera gear, and even more hours polishing every edit. You hit publish with excitement, only to watch your masterpiece get buried under an avalanche of indifference.

But, here’s the harsh truth too many beginners forget: A great idea can transcend average execution, but even the most polished video can't save a fundamentally flawed concept.

I've watched too many creators fall into this trap. They become masters of everything except the one thing that actually matters. They're building beautiful houses on quicksand, wondering why everything keeps collapsing.

The successful creators I've worked with, from beginners to the biggest names on the platform, all share one obsession: they interrogate their ideas before they execute them.

Let me share an ideation method I’ve shared with the team behind the biggest creator on YouTube (yes, you know him 😁).

Most creators think they need to come up completely original ideas from thin air. But every "original" idea is just a remix of existing concepts, a unique combination of elements proven to work. Even more so, taking a fully ‘‘new’’ concept and trying to make that a viral video is extremely hard. The reason is simple: when you have no proof it has worked in the past, you are shooting an arrow at a bullseye blindfolded after being spun around for a minute.

The secret to this method lies in where you look for inspiration.

While everyone else studies outliers on YouTube, maybe some recent movies, and documentaries on Netflix, there's a goldmine sitting in your local library. Head to the fiction section and grab books written between 1700 and the early 1900s. Don't read for pleasure. Hunt for compelling concepts that made those stories captivating.

So, why go back so far? Because you're fishing in waters that aren't crowded. Human psychology doesn't change every decade. What we find interesting stays constant, but how we consume it evolves. The Romans watched gladiators fight to the death. We watch UFC fighters leave everything in the octagon. The vehicle changes, but the psychology behind why it works remains identical.

Even with the best methods, you'll hit walls. Those moments when you've been staring at your screen for hours, and nothing clicks. The biggest creators face this too, but they have escape routes.

Start with outliers. Find videos in your niche that significantly outperformed the creator's average. If someone typically gets 50,000 views but suddenly hits 500,000, that's your goldmine. These videos broke through the noise for a reason.

Take a fitness creator who exploded with "I Tried the Rock's Diet for 30 Days." Break it down: celebrity-focused challenge, specific timeframe, personal transformation story. Now remix it: "I Tried Captain America's Workout Routine for 60 Days." Same proven psychology, fresh execution.

But don't just copy blindly. Back your ideas with data. The method above is the ‘‘easiest’’ and safest way to find outliers adjacent to what has worked in the past. Once you feel comfortable doing this ideation method, you can level up and go look at platform wide outliers before moving into the library method.

A travel vlogger I worked with wanted to showcase a hidden beach with the title "Why You Should Visit Playa Escondida Beach in Puerto Rico." Solid concept, but the data told a different story. Search volume for that specific beach was practically nonexistent, and competition for general beach keywords was brutal.

We pivoted to "The Best Beach in Puerto Rico Nobody Told You About." Instead of banking on the name, we leveraged curiosity. The result? The video significantly outperformed their previous beach content, generating more views, engagement, and subscribers.

That's the power of strategic ideation. You don't compromise your creative vision, but you become smarter about where you invest your energy.

The beautiful thing about mastering ideation is that it becomes second nature. Like a boxer who starts awkward and mechanical but eventually throws combinations without thinking, you'll develop an instinct for what works.

You'll build a mental database so rich that winning ideas flow naturally. Only when you're pushing into completely new territory will you need to return to the fundamentals. That's the joy of putting hours into something you love: feeling yourself progress from conscious incompetence to unconscious mastery. 🥷

Before you hit record on your next video, pressure-test your concept:

Remember: an idea is just the starting point. But it's the most critical starting point. Get the idea right, and everything else becomes exponentially easier. Get it wrong, and no amount of execution wizardry will save you.

The creators who understand this don't just make videos. They architect experiences that audiences can't help but share, discuss, and remember.

Your next viral hit isn't hiding in your camera settings or editing software. It's waiting in your next great idea.

See ya next week!

Leroy

🎯1of10 for outlier research

🧪Thumbnail test for detailed thumbnail testing