Here's the Secret to Becoming a YouTube Millionaire A lot of people think they know the secret to success on YouTube, but it all boils down to one thing.
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When I was young, I had dreams of being a big-time network TV host. I dove headfirst into broadcast, gathering a decade of experience as a video, social media, and brand strategist. But as time went by, I hadn't found my niche, so my career and my dreams weren't taking off as I'd imagined.
As I grew, I realized my dreams had changed. I wanted to create a life and brand for myself that supported my goals in a nontraditional way. I didn't become a network TV star, working for a boss and waking up at ungodly hours in the morning (I used to have to wake up at 2:55 a.m., and boy was that a wake-up call.) Instead, I was able to create a sustainable business for myself, filming videos from my own home and coaching others on how to build the career of their dreams on their terms, all with the power of YouTube.
I successfully took my YouTube channel from random videos on a visual hosting platform to a million-dollar business. The truth is, you can too, without having to work around the clock.
All it takes is the ONE thing
The key to becoming a millionaire is to have a focus. There's a great book that I recommend to all entrepreneurs, fittingly titled The ONE Thing. The author, Gary Keller, points out that the largest, most successful companies start by focusing on a single goal, product, or service and perfecting it, becoming known for it.
For example, Starbucks started by focusing on one thing: coffee. Sure, they serve food, tea and even sell mugs — but what are they known for? Coffee. What do most people go to Starbucks for? Coffee. The company found its niche, focused on it, and built itself from there.
Like a lot of entrepreneurs, I mistakenly thought that I needed to be good at a lot of things in order to be successful. But if you look at the biggest names in the world for inspiration, they all focus on one thing.
You can do the same with your YouTube presence, and that's where success lies.
Related: 7 Steps to Becoming a Seven-Figure Influencer in Your Niche
Narrow your focus for success
When I started, I cast a wide net of focus across every social media platform, spreading myself so thin I had to take on fewer clients in order to keep up with it all. I was working so hard but still wasn't reaching the levels of success I aimed for. When I decided to solely focus on YouTube and a particular content focus on the platform, I gradually became known for it, and that's when my business exploded. It was my one thing.
It sounds almost too simple to be true, but it is. When you pick one thing to become really good at and you become known for that one thing, you become magnetic. There are so many real-world examples of this even beyond the entrepreneurial sector. The highest-paid surgeons, for example, are neurosurgeons. They specialize in one part of the body. They're not trying to tackle everything, and they're paid more than general practitioners because their knowledge on this one thing is incredibly valuable.
If you feel like you're not a master of one thing yet, that's ok. I was not a master of YouTube when I first started. I mastered it because I did it, I practiced it, and I became a tactician. It can take some time — brain surgeons go to school for quite a while to gain knowledge and skill on this one thing. But in the end, they're able to generate a large amount of revenue for themselves and make a massive impact with that knowledge, so it pays off.
Taking the time to find and develop your YouTube niche is the secret to making big gains on the platform.
Related: 4 Video Platforms Attempting to Challenge YouTube's Dominance
Do your one thing your way
Once you've identified your one thing, there's a book I recommend called Blue Ocean Strategy. In it, W. Chan Kim talks about the idea of the red ocean versus blue ocean strategy. The red ocean is bloodied with competition because everybody does the same thing in the same way. You have an opportunity to do something that sure, maybe other people are doing, but you can do it in your own way. That's at the heart of the blue ocean strategy.
For example, when I started YouTube, I started it from the perspective of what everyone else was doing: Success equated to getting more views and subscribers. But what I began to realize is that what I was really good at was helping people turn YouTube into a real business. Once I came to that realization, I began to approach the platform from the perspective of an entrepreneur using YouTube. That put me into my own blue ocean, eliminating the factor of competition because I created my lane. I turned my business into what it is today — not through Adsense revenue, but rather by generating leads, sales and revenue through driving customers off of YouTube and into my consulting and online courses. To put it in perspective, Adsense accounts for about 1.5% of my revenue while my programs make up 97.5% of my revenue.
When you stick to one thing, you become the master and the magnet for that thing. If you start looking around, you'll find this is true in the world around you. The biggest names, the biggest brands and the biggest companies across the globe focus on mastering one thing first. When you become the master of one thing, you become the go-to for that thing. People know your specialty and why they need to hire you, and you'll be able to grow your platform and your business beyond your wildest dreams.
Related: 6 Ways You Can Use YouTube to Reach Your Intended Audience
