The traffic problem...
EDITION #082
Hey friends, happy Sunday!
Interesting week for me, both the thread and the video I published last week on the framework that changed my life got way more attention than normal.
I'm finding playing this whole internet content game to be interesting because there are so many factors that go into something taking off.
For example I posted the exact same thread a few weeks back with a weaker hook and it got 12 likes. Everything else was the same except the first tweet and the results were completely different.
Anyway I have a video coming tomorrow on How to get Lucky (without being rich), make sure you're subscribed to my YouTube channel to see that!
Alrighty, let's get into the Filter!
ONE LESSON
The traffic problem...
You start a business, create a product, build a website and... crickets.
You pour hours into writing, recording and editing a YouTube video and... 8 views (4 of them are your mum).
The problem seems to be that no one cares.
But it's actually a lack of traffic.
See, the average conversion rate of a good website is between 2-5% meaning that your business is not for 95 out of 100 people who visit.
The same goes for YouTube, the average CTR (Click Through Rate - the amount of people who have seen your Thumbnail and clicked on the video), is between 4-10% meaning that your videos are not for 90 - 96 out of 100 people who they are served to.
This can be disheartening.
If 95 out of 100 people don't care then it feels like what you're making isn't good enough. Self-doubt creeps in and you can give up.
But the thing you need to remember is that you're not trying to make things for everyone. You're not even trying to make them for most people. Instead you're making it for the 3-5% of people who care.
Luckily on the internet that 3-5% can be millions of people.
Take Peter McKinnons YouTube channel for example over the course of 5 years 5.75 million people have subscribed to his channel.
Meaning every video is delivered to 5.75 million subscription boxes as well as the discover page of millions more.
Factoring in that some of his subscribers will no longer use their accounts let's say each video is delivered to 6 million people total (including the discover page of people not subscribed).
Each video averages about 300,000 views meaning that somewhere around 5% of the people who see his videos even click onto them in the first place. And most of these people have actively opted in to hear from him.
Next time you're getting disheartened about no one buying or watching what you make, zoom out, remember that it's not for 95 out of 100 people and that you only need to find that 5% of people who it is for.
TWO IDEAS
I.
Invest in your body, brain, business, and community.
II.
If you want to create interesting things, focus on living an interesting life.
THREE FAVOURITE FINDS
Generate business ideas using Upwork: This method of generating business ideas from Jakob Greenfeld is a great way to spot trends that businesses are already willing to pay for.
This reminds me of how Tyler Tringas built his Shopify app Storemapper and sold it to people on Upwork looking for a freelancer to build them a custom solution.
I built a $2M agency in 2 years: This video is so good, Henry shares how he went from sleeping on a friends couch to building a $2m agency (with his business partner Dylan) in 2 years... while consistently creating videos on YouTube and recording podcasts 🤯
12ft Ladder: This tool removes the paywall + ads to a bunch of websites. These sites want to get that SEO juice so they submit an unpaywalled version to google, 12ft ladder grabs that version and let’s you read in peace.
END NOTE
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Have a fantastic week!
- Stephen