Jimmy Donaldson , aka MrBeast , who owns the YouTube channel with the most subscribers in the world, may have discovered the formula for influencer success. However, his discovery implies that few others will be able to replicate his level of success. In a world saturated with individuals and businesses striving for viral content across various platforms, over his 15-year-old video-creating career, he observed that cutting through the noise is increasingly challenging. Donaldson, now estimated to be worth $85 million with numerous ventures, philanthropic projects, and an Amazon TV series, is a prime example of a successful digital creator. According to Business Insider, Donaldson now heads an empire worth $700 million. He noted that he realised early on that achieving virality requires creating content that is significantly different from everything else available.
What is the ‘ purple cow effect ’ and what MrBeast said about it
In a Diary of a CEO podcast, Donaldson said: “The thing is, to go viral, you have to do something that’s never been done before. If you’re driving down the road, and you see a cow, who cares? It’s a cow. But if you’re driving down the road, and you see a purple cow, you’ve never seen that before, and it’s something you aren’t expecting. You’re going to go, ‘Holy s***.’ You’re going to tell your friend about it. You’re going to remember that. You’ll probably even think about it randomly once every couple of years: Why the f**k was there a purple cow?”
“You can apply that same analogy to ideas. When you’re scrolling through social media to find a video to watch, there are things that have been done before. You’ll scroll past it, and you’ll never think about it again. Just like you’ll never think about a cow on the side of the road. And then there are the purple cow ideas—which is what I try to do—that make you go, ‘What the f**k? I’ve never seen that. I have to click this or I’m not going to be able to sleep tonight,” Donaldson added.
MrBeast explains why his success is difficult to replicate
MrBeast’s YouTube channel has multiple attention-grabbing titles such as “I spent 100 hours inside the Pyramids,” “7 days stranded at sea,” and “$10,000 every day you survive in a grocery store.”
Pulling off these stunts demands meticulous planning, substantial funding, and exclusive access—resources reserved for only the most elite creators. Donaldson himself has revealed that producing his videos runs into “millions,” a fact he shared when X owner Elon Musk urged him to switch platforms from YouTube. He refused, noting that ad revenue from X wouldn’t even cover his expenses, let alone generate any profit.
“To get that purple cow effect, [the videos have] never been done before. And if something’s never been done before, there’s usually a reason—’cause it’s very hard. You have to train yourself not to resent very difficult, complex, hard original problems and actually run toward them, because those are the ones that tend to have more of the purple cow effect, where people have to watch it. It’s pretty winner-take-all in the top videos, [so] you really have to lean into that purple cow effect,” the YouTuber added.
What is the ‘ purple cow effect ’ and what MrBeast said about it
In a Diary of a CEO podcast, Donaldson said: “The thing is, to go viral, you have to do something that’s never been done before. If you’re driving down the road, and you see a cow, who cares? It’s a cow. But if you’re driving down the road, and you see a purple cow, you’ve never seen that before, and it’s something you aren’t expecting. You’re going to go, ‘Holy s***.’ You’re going to tell your friend about it. You’re going to remember that. You’ll probably even think about it randomly once every couple of years: Why the f**k was there a purple cow?”
“You can apply that same analogy to ideas. When you’re scrolling through social media to find a video to watch, there are things that have been done before. You’ll scroll past it, and you’ll never think about it again. Just like you’ll never think about a cow on the side of the road. And then there are the purple cow ideas—which is what I try to do—that make you go, ‘What the f**k? I’ve never seen that. I have to click this or I’m not going to be able to sleep tonight,” Donaldson added.
MrBeast explains why his success is difficult to replicate
MrBeast’s YouTube channel has multiple attention-grabbing titles such as “I spent 100 hours inside the Pyramids,” “7 days stranded at sea,” and “$10,000 every day you survive in a grocery store.”
Pulling off these stunts demands meticulous planning, substantial funding, and exclusive access—resources reserved for only the most elite creators. Donaldson himself has revealed that producing his videos runs into “millions,” a fact he shared when X owner Elon Musk urged him to switch platforms from YouTube. He refused, noting that ad revenue from X wouldn’t even cover his expenses, let alone generate any profit.
MY FIRST X VIDEO MADE OVER $250,000! 😲
— MrBeast (@MrBeast) January 22, 2024
But it’s a bit of a facade. Advertisers saw the attention it was getting and bought ads on my video (I think) and thus my revenue per view is prob higher than what you’d experience pic.twitter.com/nViVpZbWBb
“To get that purple cow effect, [the videos have] never been done before. And if something’s never been done before, there’s usually a reason—’cause it’s very hard. You have to train yourself not to resent very difficult, complex, hard original problems and actually run toward them, because those are the ones that tend to have more of the purple cow effect, where people have to watch it. It’s pretty winner-take-all in the top videos, [so] you really have to lean into that purple cow effect,” the YouTuber added.
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