How Jake Tran Broke the YouTube Algorithm

 

There are two things we can say for sure about Jake Tran: 1. He's bound to be on some kind of watch list by now. 2. He is absolutely crushing it with YouTube. But what a lot of people might not realize is that before his channel started taking off like it is today, Jake had been posting videos for well over a year that weren't getting much traction. Most of those old videos have since been deleted, but comparing what he was doing when he first started to what he's doing now can tell us a lot about how to be successful on YouTube. Today, we'll be exploring the four key reasons Jake Tran is beating the YouTube algorithm, and how you can potentially do the same.

1. The Three T's: Title, Thumbnail, and Topic

There are three crucial things that heavily determine the success of a video: the title, the thumbnail, and the topic. Jake Tran is a master of all three. Because the biggest sin you can make with these three elements is being too boring, especially in the business niche that Jake is in, which is filled with very generic vanilla content. So many people are regurgitating the same information in the same format. Jake, on the other hand, picks topics that are incredibly unique and fascinating. Often, they're controversial things most other people just don't talk about, like China's profitable business of enslaving Africa or the economics of the Russian mafia.

However, you don't even have to go as extreme as Jake does. Let's take this video for instance, "How the Rich and Powerful Hide Their Money." Immediately, I'm intrigued by the topic, title, and thumbnail, which makes me want to click to find out more. But let's be clear, it's a video about taxes; it's not exactly the most riveting subject. It's the way that Jake has packaged and positioned it that makes us want to click.

The reason these three T's are so crucial is that one of the biggest factors that determine whether a video goes viral is click-through rate, which means the percentage of people who click on the video when YouTube displays it. The average click-through rate is around 3%, but if you can get over 10%, you have an extremely good chance of going viral if the video is of good quality. Most people treat the thumbnail and title as an afterthought, but you will start getting much better results by spending significantly more time on these elements.

In fact, a lot of top YouTubers like Jake create multiple different thumbnails and titles and split-test which one gets more clicks because they know this can make or break a video, no matter how good the actual content is. They also incorporate recognizable famous faces that attract more attention. Just like we're doing right now with Jake Tran. However, where Jake excels when it comes to the three T's is that he designs them for viewers, not search engines. A lot of YouTube advice tells you to stuff keywords into the title to try and rank in search. But ranking in search is not the main goal if you want lots of views. The vast majority of traffic comes from suggested videos, and that's how you go really viral when YouTube is pushing your content on the suggested bar and homepage.

2. Unique Presentation Style

When Jake started off, most of his videos were him talking to the camera, and he was trying to emulate his favorite creators. But his growth spike began when he switched to his own unique style: using movie and TV clips to help illustrate what he was saying. Using cinematic clips is a way of standing out and grabbing the audience's attention, especially when combined with Jake's distinctive dry sarcasm. It gives his videos a unique vibe, and when you're watching, you know it's a Jake Tran video.

Now, maybe you'd like to incorporate movie clips like Jake does, and you're wondering about copyright. There's something called fair use, which means you can legally use copyrighted material if you do it in a certain way. Jake transforms the original work into something new by using clips to help illustrate what he's explaining in the video.

3. The Power of Storytelling

Every Jake Tran video feels like a story, a mini movie taking you from start to finish. He often puts you as the protagonist of the story, which adds an emotional and memorable element to his content. Incorporating anecdotes and stories in your videos, whether from yourself or something you've heard, is a powerful tool to draw people into the video and boost audience retention.

4. Building a Team

One thing not talked about enough is that most large YouTubers are not doing it all themselves. As channels grow, building a small team to help with various aspects like thumbnails and editing can significantly accelerate growth while maintaining quality. Jake tapped into his existing audience to find the right team members, which is a smart move for those looking to scale their channel.

In conclusion, Jake Tran's success on YouTube can be attributed to his mastery of the three T's, his unique presentation style, the power of storytelling, and his ability to build a team. These principles can serve as valuable lessons for anyone looking to break through the YouTube algorithm and find success on the platform.