One video. Three thumbnail variations. 270k views in 7 days.
5.8x the channel's average views.
Let me show you how we did it...
Simon Squibb’s channel usually grows through big guest collabs — like Richard Branson, Alex Hormozi and his recent video with Iman Gadzhi.
But this solo video, backed by a strategy I’ve been working on with his team is on track to outperform it.
This video is currently:
→ 5.8x above the channel average
→ 1,500+ views/hour
→ One week old and yet it's growing faster than ever!
The video is accelerating, and I think it will be one of the top videos on the channel within a month.
Here’s the performance graph:
Solo videos are rare on Simon’s channel, but I’ve been nudging the team to lean into them.
Collab videos are great for new viewers, but without content that creates returning viewers, you’re just renting an audience from someone else.
With the right thumbnail & positioning, solo videos can punch above their weight.
We used the outlier strategy, remixing proven concepts from across YouTube into a tailored spin-off for Simon’s audience.
I’ll break that down next.
This wasn’t a lucky hit. It was a remix of high performing outliers.
While researching, I found 2 big title patterns:
Two little-known creators used the same emotional hook and went viral.
The title hits hard because it compresses decades of wisdom into minutes and that feels valuable.
It’s a shortcut.
A life cheat code.
It's why Simon's biggest video blew up... 👇
The fact that it performed well on smaller channels and that Simon already had proof his audience responded to this type of pattern was a strong sign it would work again.
"Don’t Waste Your Life"
This thumbnail text make you feel like if you don’t watch, you’ll miss something important.
These tug at FOMO and mortality.
That’s a potent mix that works time and time again.
I've seen this pattern work so many times and I've actually made a full video explaing how I did this for another creator:
Two of the most interesting outliers?
Simon Alexander Ong and Mark Tilbury.
Simon’s video exploded to 3.5M views on a relatively small channel (130k subs at the time).
It’s simple, emotionally urgent, and directly speaks to a younger audience.
Then Mark Tilbury, with 5M+ subs mirrored the exact formula:
→ Similar title
→ Same “urgent wisdom” angle
That’s when I knew: this format works.
Simplicity + reflection + “you need to hear this now” urgency = breakout videos.
This is what happens when you aim for views by design.
You don’t guess.
You architect the idea, title, and thumbnail around:
→ Emotional triggers
→ Audience language
→ Power words that spark urgency
→ Packaging built for the right person
Be a Video Architect. Build for the outcome!
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