You probably saw the document that went around the internet last year. MrBeast wrote it for his own team. It explains how he built the most dominant channel on YouTube. I read every line of it. Then I asked one question. How do I turn this into steps you can run today?
So I cut it down to twenty actions. They work for a new channel and for a channel that already has an audience. I want to talk through them the way two people talk over coffee.
None of this needs fancy words or complicated theory. It is what works, and it comes from the person who rewrote the YouTube rulebook. Here is how you make videos that people keep watching.
1. Make YouTube Your North Star
Ask one question before you pick up a camera or write an idea down. Will this video perform on YouTube? The question is not whether the idea is cool or whether the shot looks pretty. MrBeast fixes on this one test. He does not chase a Hollywood look. He chases what works on this platform.
What to do: Watch a stack of big YouTube hits, and watch MrBeast's videos most of all. Do not only enjoy them. Take them apart. Ask why that video grew. Was it the pacing, the hook, or the energy? Find what holds attention, rather than what looks polished.
2. Crack the Code on Virality
YouTube runs on three numbers: CTR, AVD and AVP. I will explain each one in simple terms. These three numbers decide whether your video succeeds.
CTR (Click-Through Rate): CTR measures how many people click. Write at least ten titles and ten thumbnails for every idea. Go bold. Try "I Gave Away a House!" or "24 Hours in a Haunted Prison!" Then say each one out loud. If the title does not make you curious, it is not ready. Keep every title honest, because a promise you cannot deliver costs you the next click.
AVD (Average View Duration): The first 60 seconds decide the result. Spend hours on that opening. Make it fast and bright, and make it deliver exactly what the thumbnail promised. Read your analytics after you upload. Find the second where people leave, then fix that moment in the next video.
AVP (Average View Percentage): Keep the whole video tight. Cut any part that gets boring. MrBeast calls his method "crazy progression". He starts wild and he raises the energy from there. Put a big moment every three minutes, such as a twist or a large reveal, so people stay.
3. Be Creative, No Matter Your Job
You do not need the title of "ideas person" to have ideas. You scout a location and you find a field with a giant pile of tires. Tell the team. Everybody on the team creates.
What to do: Keep your eyes open. Bring back the odd prop and the stranger with a good story. The best videos start from something nobody planned.
4. Know What Matters Most
Priorities decide the outcome. You are locking down a location for a $100,000 challenge. Do not let a small side task pull you off it.
What to do: Name your "critical components", which are the things the video cannot happen without. Guard those. When somebody pulls you away, say this. "I am full up with this one key thing right now."
5. Talk It Out, For Real
A big decision deserves a real conversation. Do not settle important details over Slack or text.
What to do: Call the person or find them in person when the detail decides the shoot. A prop that falls through is one example. Then confirm they understood you. Ask "does that make sense?" and never assume the answer.
6. Record Everything
A video beats a written note every time. You scout a spot, or you build a setup. Take out your phone and record it.
What to do: Send those clips to your team. Recording is faster than a written report, and everybody sees the real thing.
7. Don't Hide the Bad Stuff
Say it loudly and early when something goes wrong. You find a location with a leaking roof. Report it now, in plain words.
What to do: Raise every problem the same day you find it. An early fix costs less than a late one.
8. Chase Down Outside Help
You depend on somebody outside the team, such as the person who delivers 10,000 balloons. Do not assume they will arrive.
What to do: Check in every day. Ask for photos or video of the progress. Keep a second option ready. If they fail to deliver, the miss belongs to you.
9. Give the Full Picture
Do not make people guess when you need help or a decision. Lay the whole situation out.
What to do: Say this. "Here is the situation, here is what I tried, here is what I need." When somebody asks you for something, ask why they need it.
10. Protect the Must-Haves
Name the thing your video cannot work without. It might be a specific car or one large set piece. Then protect it.
What to do: Check on it often. Keep a backup. Raise the alarm the moment it starts to slip.
11. Save Cash with Creativity
Ask one question before you spend a large sum. Can I get the same result for less money?
What to do: Swap a $5,000 prize for a $500 prize that looks the same on camera. Every dollar you save funds the next video.
12. Build in Extra Time
Some part of the plan always goes wrong.
What to do: Book the venue for two days rather than one. A delay costs you nothing when you hold spare time.
13. Don't Buy the Hype
Somebody promises far too much, such as "I will get you 50 drones cheap". Ask more questions.
What to do: Check their history. Read reviews and ask other people. An offer that looks too good is usually false.
14. Own Your Screw-Ups
You made a mistake. Do not avoid it.
What to do: Say "that one is on me". Find the cause, then stop it from happening again. A mistake is fine when you learn from it.
15. Find the Pros
You take on something hard, such as building a giant maze. Do not guess your way through it.
What to do: Find somebody who already did it. One short conversation with an expert saves you days of trouble.
16. Keep Pushing
Somebody said no. Treat that as the start.
What to do: Try another angle, another person, another favor. Keep going while you still hold one option.
17. Juggle Like a Pro
Do not pour all your time into one video and let the rest stall.
What to do: Run a few projects at the same time. Move each one forward a little every week.
18. Stay in the Loop
YouTube changes fast, so you have to keep up.
What to do: Watch the newest MrBeast videos and scroll TikTok. See what is popular this month. What you take in shapes what you put out.
19. Keep It Real
Cut the padding and say the thing directly.
What to do: Name the problem when you see one. Honest feedback beats polite feedback every time.
20. Make the Money Show
You spent a large sum, so make that spend visible on screen.
What to do: A $10,000 spend has to look like $10,000 to the viewer. When it does not show, plan it again.
Wrapping It Up
That is your cheat sheet, and it comes straight from MrBeast's playbook. None of it is fixed forever. YouTube keeps changing, so you have to change with it.
Keep adjusting, keep learning, keep pushing. Follow these steps and you stop making videos alone. You start making the kind of thing people cannot look away from. So, are you ready to try it?
Related reading: How to Get Your First 10,000 Users Without Spam and Free LinkedIn Comment Tool (I Almost Paid $250).
CTR and retention framing cuts through noise. This is mechanics, not mythology.
Here's the TL;DR version of this:
• YouTube rewards retention over production value.
• First-minute optimization dominates outcomes.
• Titles and thumbnails are tested, not guessed.
• Money and stakes must be visible.
• Execution beats cinematic ambition.