Formula 1 in Singapore

Spent three evenings hanging around the event. I'm not really into F1, but it's a curious thing for Singapore. Visitor spending hit around S$130 million (not much compared to Taylor Swift, haha). This year there were many more people than last year, and it felt a bit crowded. Though the organization was almost perfect, with no major traffic jams or bottlenecks.

I went mainly to feel the vibe, see friends, and go to the concerts. The highlights for me were Foo Fighters (to see the Nirvana drummer irl!) and Elton John (just a legend!).

I'll probably go again next year, but let's see the concert lineup first, haha.

We just posted a documentary from China where we show 18 of the most high-tech things there. I’m personally fascinated by what’s going on in China right now and it was very cool to spend almost a week in Shenzhen filming it.

On top of that, this video was the most difficult, advanced, and time-consuming piece we’ve ever made. It started back in early August with research and brainstorming on what would be a very popular China topic for the audience.

Then we spent several weeks preparing, finding the right people and companies, and finally I flew there to shoot.

Hope you like it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CD0LKkoMzE

P.S. Here are three thumbnails that we are testing now on YouTube for this video. For the first time we decided to hire three different thumbnail designers and test their work for the same video.

I was super worried about this video (still am). It was supposed to be big due to the topic, video idea, and execution, but reality on YouTube is not always what you want haha.

The video started very slow. Though viewer retention is amazing (2.5x vs the average on the channel). So the problem is CTR (how many people click on a thumbnail). We’ve done a series of changes to titles and thumbnails over the last 4 days. CTR started to improve but still not the best. So it means the YouTube algorithm is struggling to find the right segment of the audience for us.

But we already see quite a lot of hate comments from the US so we’re on the right track lol.

Today I’m meeting with the team to discuss what else can be done to help this video fly. Tough job to be a YouTuber.

Remember when I was anxious about the high-tech in China video not performing well? We put in so much time and energy, but the initial results were pretty average.

Update three weeks after uploading: it started growing nicely about two weeks in and is now sitting at 240,000 views. After numerous thumbnail and title changes, YouTube finally found the right audience for it.

The best part is the growth is now very stable, around 10K views per day with little fluctuation, which usually signals a long-term performer. The two biggest factors (aside from the much improved CTR from all that thumbnail testing) are the topic, which has been trending on YouTube recently, and the phenomenal retention, up to three times higher than our usual videos, with a whopping 76% after the first 30 seconds.

So fingers crossed this one will have a long tail and eventually hit millions of views. Our ultimate goal was to make a video that could reach 10M views. Our current record is 2M, though that one was India-focused, which tends to be easier.

Another good sign: YouTube is pushing it to a wide audience. As you can see in the screenshot, nearly 40% of recent viewers are from the US (the most valuable market on YouTube), while the Philippines and India are also in the top four. That mix shows the video isn’t geo centric but topic centric, it appeals broadly.

Lastly, the current RPM (revenue per 1,000 views) over the past week is a massive USD 8.31, our highest ever. That’s thanks to the topic (high-tech) and strong US viewership. So far, the video has earned USD 1,306.36, and theoretically (haha) could bring in USD 83,100 if it ever hits 10M views.

Sorry for all the numbers, we’re just quite nerdy and passionate about the YouTube game. I actually explain how the algorithm works in my free 3-day online workshop (you can book your spot here). Along with that, I cover how to pick a profitable niche and the blueprint to start and grow a channel.

As for this video, I’ll keep you posted on how it goes. If the numbers stay steady for the next 2-3 months, we’ll probably try to replicate the success with a similar project. It’ll take tons of time and effort again, but it’s worth it when you see big results from your work, right?!