Month: January 2023

Why Mr. Beast earns $54 million a year

Posted on by Alastair Walton

I recently read an article about Jimmy Donaldson a.k.a Mr. Beast.

In case you don’t know, this guy is now one of the biggest stars on YouTube.

(Bigger even than PewDiePie.)

According to reports, he earned an incredible $54 million in 2021 alone. What’s more, he’s now the fourth most subscribed channel on the platform, with 125 million subscribers, and a whopping 18.2 billion views. As if that wasn’t enough, he’s also developing apps, and even has a virtual restaurant he calls “Mr. Beast Burger.”

Not bad for a guy who just turned 24.

Now, what’s the point of all this?

Well, as I read through the article something jumped out at me.

It turns out this guy is far from an overnight success.

In fact, he’s actually posted videos since all the way back in 2012, when he was just 13.

This factoid contains an important lesson.

You see, what a lot of people don’t realize about making money online, copywriting, running a business, or anything in life, is that success takes time. It can often take years, or in the above case decades. This is really the point I’m trying to make. The overwhelming majority of internet entrepreneurs give up way too quickly. They want fast, easy success, and when it doesn’t happen they quit.

Now, I’m not saying persistence is the magic key to success.

Some people persist their entire lives and get nowhere.

So persistence is not the only factor.

Obviously there are other things like luck, or simply being in the right place at the right time.

But what I am saying is that most people give up far too easily…

…and unless you’re willing to persist you’ll never get anywhere.

Here endeth the lesson.

Alastair Walton

P.S. Another reason why this guy is so successful is because of his content. Mr. Beast is famous for something known as “expensive stunts.” For example, some of his videos have titles like:

“Last to Leave the Circle Wins $50,000”

”Would You Rather Have $100,000 or This Mystery Key”

“Would You Rather Have a Lamborghini or This House?”

“Last to Leave $800,000 Island Keeps It”

“I Ate a $70,000 Golden Pizza”

This type of content is extremely compelling. People will always sit up and pay attention when there’s money (especially big money) involved. The competition and curiosity factor also draw viewers. The point is that unique, killer content will always put you ahead of the crowd.

P.P.S. One more thing before I go. Just because success takes time, doesn’t mean you have to work hard, or put in long hours. Consistency is far more important. For instance, if you spend just an hour a day reading, you can easily get through more than a dozen books per year.

The Little Known Benefits of Virtual Hunting

Posted on by Alastair Walton

Deer hunter (released way back in 1997) is a video game where – as the name implies – you hunt deer.

The weird thing about this game was how successful it was.

Despite being panned by critics, it sold a million copies in under a year.

The reason for its success was mostly down to how different it was.

This was truly a one of a kind game. Instead of fighting monsters, or solving puzzles, or quests, or whatever…you…hunted deer. This mostly involved staring at the screen and waiting, waiting, WAITING for the stupid deer to appear. Now, I recently gave this game another go, and it got me thinking about something extremely important.

PATIENCE.

This is a quality many people lack. They want everything NOW. Whether it’s building their business, increasing subscriber count, or making their first million. As you can imagine, this is far from being a good thing. You end up spending your days in a haze of stress and frustration, which does eventually take its toll.

If you can relate to this, then you need to learn to let go and practice patience.

Believe me your blood pressure will benefit.

Not only that, you might find that you get there faster…

…once you stop worrying about how fast you get there.

The moral of the story is this:

People need to learn how to slow down, relax, and be more patient. Whether you’re standing in line, sitting in traffic, or waiting on a phone call. Realize that you’ll get there when you get there.

In the meantime sit back and enjoy the journey.

Adios

Alastair Walton

THE BEST BLOG POST YOU’LL EVER READ

Posted on by Alastair Walton

A quick piece of writing advice:

The other day I saw an ad which claimed it could help me get a “better” body.

This really got my attention. You see, in this type of scenario, most copywriters would use the word “best” i.e. get the best body of your life in under 90 days, or something like that. But the reason why better is so much better, is because it’s honest and credible. Along with that, it sounds a lot more believable. After all, it’s a far easier to believe you can make something a little better, isn’t it?

Basically this claim seems possible and realistic.

The word better also sets up a comparison between your new and current body.

It creates the idea that by putting in the effort you can improve your body, and that this is actually achievable (by comparison, getting the best body isn’t necessarily under your control.)

The word best also has other issues.

For example, it’s difficult to prove.

(After all, how do you define or measure if something is actually the best – in a lot of cases you can’t.)

The word best also triggers skepticism. Why? Because it makes you sound arrogant. If I told you I was the best copywriter in the world, would you believe me? Probably not. On the other hand, if someone else said I was the best well…

…you’d at least consider it a possibility.

Alastair Walton

P.S. One more tip before I go. A lot of people use the word “most” without really thinking. For example, you might find yourself writing, “most people do X” i.e. most people brush their teeth at night. The problem is that you have no way of knowing if most people do actually do X. There’s no real way of proving it, is there?

This is why it’s always better to use the word “many” instead of most. There’s a simple reason for this. Many is a lot more believable, and also credible. Something else you should watch out for is the word “everybody.” i.e. everybody does X – obviously this isn’t true. Bottom line: avoid making statements that are difficult to prove and you should be okay.

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