The Smartest Way to Make Money on YouTube from Day One

How to Start a YouTube Channel That Makes Millions: The One Viewer Model

Author

Ark
May 24, 2025

YouTube has officially replaced television, with over 1 billion hours of content watched daily on big screens, as highlighted by YouTube’s CEO in a letter celebrating the platform’s 20th anniversary. If there’s ever been a perfect time to start a YouTube channel, it’s now—or so you might think. I’ve grown my own channel to 600,000 subscribers and generated millions of dollars, but if someone asked me whether they should start a YouTube channel today, my answer would be a firm “Don’t”—unless they follow three critical principles that 99% of creators miss.

These principles have helped me earn $5 million a year and build a sustainable channel without chasing algorithms. They’ve also empowered my clients, some with fewer than 1,000 subscribers, to achieve extraordinary results. For example:

  • Denver generated $1.36 million with just 2,632 subscribers.

  • Todd built a $500,000 business in 2024 with only 536 subscribers.

  • Alexander scaled to over $500,000 before even hitting 1,000 subscribers.

The difference isn’t luck, hacks, or even content quality—it’s a completely new approach to YouTube where one viewer equals one buyer, subscriber counts become irrelevant, and monetization starts from day one without needing 4,000 hours of watch time. In celebration of YouTube’s 20th anniversary, I’m giving away a free playbook that covers everything you need to monetize your channel immediately, including an Ideal Client Decoder to pinpoint your audience and their needs. Comment “playbook” below, and I’ll send you the link to access it on demand.

The Three Questions You Must Answer Before Starting

Most aspiring YouTubers ask the wrong question: “What kind of content should I make?” Instead, you need to ask who, what, and how:

  • Who do I help?

  • What do they need?

  • How can I help them?

This isn’t just a reframing—it’s a complete reversal of the traditional YouTube model. By focusing on one viewer before creating a single video, you set the stage for immediate monetization. Here’s how to implement the one viewer model through three specific steps.

1. Define Your Transformation Statement

Everything starts with clarity about who you serve and the transformation you deliver. A transformation statement follows this formula:

“I help [specific audience] go from [struggle] to [outcome] so they can achieve [improvements].”

For example:

  • Denver’s statement: “I help men facing unwanted divorce or separation save their marriage or long-term relationship before it ends forever.”

  • Todd’s statement: “I help DIYers who don’t know where to start build their own solar project, going from an urgent need for solar power to confidently installing a professional, code-compliant system, saving money, and contributing to a sustainable planet.”

This specificity is the secret sauce behind Denver’s $1.36 million and Todd’s $500,000 with tiny subscriber counts.

2. Package Your Knowledge

Once you know your audience and their transformation, package your expertise into a digital product, such as an online program or one-on-one coaching. For instance, Alexander created a comprehensive online program for cleaning business owners before making his first YouTube video, enabling him to generate $20,000+ months instead of pennies from AdSense.

3. Know What You’re Selling Before Your First Video

Unlike most creators who spend months or years building an audience before figuring out what to sell, the One Viewer Model requires you to know your offer from day one. Every piece of content you create should be strategically designed to attract ideal clients for your existing product, not random viewers who may never buy.

The YouTube Flywheel Strategy: Turning Viewers into Buyers

To convert your one viewer into one buyer, you need the YouTube Flywheel Strategy—a self-reinforcing system that creates algorithm domination, even with a small audience. Unlike the “content hamster wheel” of producing endless random videos, the flywheel builds momentum with each cycle, turning a tiny audience into consistent income. Here’s how it works:

Step 1: Create Hyper-Relevant Content

Your content must focus on your one ideal viewer and address their specific pain points and problems. This teaches YouTube’s algorithm exactly what your channel is about, a process called algorithm categorization. When the algorithm understands your who, what, and how, it uses its traffic sources (search, suggested, and browse) to send more ideal viewers to your content.

Step 2: Prioritize Retention

Retention is critical—YouTube rewards videos with 40%+ retention rates, signaling that viewers find your content valuable. High retention leads to thoughtful comments like, “This was incredibly helpful because…” or “I had a lightbulb moment!” These qualitative signals tell YouTube your content is worth promoting, driving more ideal viewers to your videos.

Step 3: Strategic Calls to Action (CTAs)

Instead of ending videos with “like and subscribe,” include strategic CTAs tailored to your audience’s stage in their journey:

  • Cold audience (just discovering the problem): Offer a low-barrier resource like a PDF, guide, or checklist.

  • Warm audience (aware they need help): Provide in-depth resources like a free masterclass or webinar.

  • Hot audience (ready to buy): Invite them to a free consultation or directly to your paid offer.

Place CTAs at three points:

  1. After the introduction (within 30–90 seconds).

  2. After delivering valuable content (within the first 25% of the video).

  3. At the end to capture viewers before they leave.

Videos with early CTAs convert 300% better than those with end-screen CTAs only. Ensure CTAs feel like a natural extension of your content, not an interruption.

Step 4: Build Your Email List

Every video should drive viewers to join your email list through free, valuable content (e.g., PDFs, webinars, or consultations). Unlike YouTube, which you don’t own, your email list is yours to nurture. Once viewers are on your list, educate and entertain them to build trust and convert them into paying clients. This creates a cycle where your email list drives traffic back to your YouTube videos, reinforcing the flywheel.

The Eight-Video Plan to Launch Your Revenue Machine

Whether you’re starting fresh or reinvigorating an existing channel, this eight-video plan creates an evergreen revenue machine:

  1. Evergreen, Bottom-of-Funnel (BOFU): Target hot leads with specific pain points and urgent solutions to inform the algorithm.

  2. Evergreen, BOFU: Another video for hot leads addressing a different urgent pain point.

  3. Evergreen, Middle-of-Funnel (MOFU): Educate warm leads with a mini-transformation, introducing your methodology.

  4. Viral, Top-of-Funnel (TOFU): Create broad, sharable content to expand your reach to cold audiences.

  5. Evergreen, BOFU: Capture more hot leads with another specific pain point and solution.

  6. Depths (Thought Leadership): Share your unique perspective to build authority, especially with warm leads.

  7. Viral, TOFU: Another awareness-building piece to bring new viewers into your funnel.

  8. Evergreen, MOFU: Nurture warm leads to move them closer to buying.

This balanced approach attracts, nurtures, and converts viewers at every stage, creating a symbiotic system that builds authority and drives revenue.

Key Metrics to Track

Focus on these three metrics to ensure your channel’s success:

  • Click-Through Rate (CTR): Aim for 5–10%, indicating your titles and thumbnails appeal to your ideal viewer. BOFU content may have lower CTR but higher-quality viewers.

  • Retention Rate: Target 40%+ to signal to YouTube that your content is valuable, driving more traffic to your videos.

  • Dollars per Subscriber: Unlike AdSense (1–3 cents per view), this strategy can yield $10–$14 per subscriber, as seen with clients like Salom ($10,000/month with <1,000 subscribers) and Jeffree ($10,000/month with <700 subscribers).

Sell Without Selling

Avoid turning your videos into infomercials. Instead, show, don’t sell by building belief in:

  1. Your Method: Demonstrate your unique, results-focused approach (e.g., the real estate expert’s “weird strategy” for FSBO listings).

  2. Your Authority: Share your journey, struggles, and breakthroughs to become relatable and trustworthy.

  3. Your Viewer’s Ability to Change: Provide mini-transformations that show viewers the potential of working with you.

When you focus on value and transformation, viewers will naturally seek to work with you, as seen with clients like:

  • Chris, a trumpet teacher, enrolled 13 clients in 30 days, generating $10,000.

  • Jeffree, who hit $10,000/month with fewer than 700 subscribers.

  • Rosie, a calligraphy instructor, is approaching $1 million in sales.

Get Started Today

YouTube is a search engine where people actively seek solutions, giving you an advantage over platforms like TikTok or Instagram. By being specific (specific audience + specific problems + specific solutions = serious buyers), you can monetize from day one. Start with my free playbook to implement the One Viewer Model and build your revenue machine. Comment “playbook” below or click the link in the description to access it on demand.

What’s your biggest takeaway from this strategy? Share below and watch my next video on the blueprint to make money on YouTube from day one!

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