71 - Marc Hustvedt, MrBeast

In Ep. 71 of Earned, Conor sits down with Marc Hustvedt, president of the largest YouTube channel in America (137 MILLION subscribers): MrBeast. Marc’s impressive resume also includes founding ventures like Tubefilter, Supergravity Pictures, and the Streamy Awards. We start the episode by learning why Marc enjoys building new companies, and hear why he’s particularly interested in YouTubers. We ask Marc about the core elements that make a piece of content successful, and the reasons behind MrBeast’s most recent explosion in (billions of) views. Marc shares how the MrBeast team has leaned into TikTok, before explaining the importance of viewer acquisition with captivating video titles and thumbnails, and a few of the ways MrBeast optimizes its content for performance. We hear Marc’s take on the current monetization models of social platforms like YouTube and TikTok, and how MrBeast’s side ventures like Feastables and MrBeast Burger are now contributing a larger slice of the revenue pie. To close the show, we discuss the impact that MrBeast, aka Jimmy Donaldson, has had on his hometown of Greenville, North Carolina, and hear what’s in store for the company over the next 20 years.

In this episode, you will learn:

1. The keys to creating a successful piece of content
2. The importance of catchy video titles and thumbnails for viewer acquisition
3. How MrBeast grew a following of 137 million subscribers (and counting!)

Key Takeaways

[12:51] The keys to creating a successful piece of content

[20:25] Why MrBeast leaned into TikTok

[26:06] The importance of optimizing titles, thumbnails, and integrated ad reads

[41:40] Marc’s predictions for the future of MrBeast

Resources:

• MrBeast Youtube: @mrbeast
• MrBeast Twitter: @mrbeast
• MrBeast Instagram: @mrbeast
• Shop MrBeast Merch: https://shopmrbeast.com/

Connect with the Guest:

• Marc’s LinkedIn

Connect with Conor Begley & CreatorIQ:

• Conor’s LinkedIn - @conormbegley
• CreatorIQ LinkedIn - @creatoriq

Follow us on social:

• CreatorIQ YouTube - @TribeDynamics
• CreatorIQ Instagram - @creatoriq
• CreatorIQ TikTok - @creator.iq
• CreatorIQ Twitter - @CreatorIQ