https://www.theverge.com/22231657/mkbhd-marques-brownlee-interview-youtube-creator-influencer-decoder

  1. Started making Youtube videos when he bought a laptop and wanted to share his experience. This eventually snowballed into making all kinds of videos with the laptop, eventually software, mouse, keyboard etc., and thats how it turned into a tech channel.
  2. Was surprised that he found new things that the first video he watched before buying his laptop did not have, felt that if he made videos, others can make a better buying decision.
  3. Put out 120 videos in 2020, team of 5 in a 7,000 sq ft space.
  4. Starting other channels that may not have MKBHD as the face - with multiple people on camera. Mainly from a scalability perspective.
  5. Being a Youtuber is multiple jobs in one. Writing, being on camera, shooting, editing, promoting, uploading, sharing, content strategy. Like an octopus.
  6. When he found talented people, started handing over aspects of the above.
  7. Still edits 99% of stuff.
  8. Because of the platform, growth is primarily measured by the paltform metrics like viewer retention - do not have view count goals, once had a goal to make 100 vids in a calendar year. Apart from that, mostly its a qualitative thing of just doing better, and the eye test.
  9. Revenue - youtube ads. 40% youtube adsenxse, 50% sponsored integrations, 10% misc
    1. adsence
    2. banner
    3. prerolls and mid rolls
    4. integrations/sponsorhips
    5. merch
  10. many of the brands are so good, wants to share them anyway - negotiating with them - yeah its good, it might end up in a video anyway but lets work on something
  11. Works with WME - William Morris Endeavor - they negotiate contracts and deals, get more business, final rate is set by MKBHD.
  12. Management has become a lot bigger part of his job - to just do things better
  13. Prefers a 9 to 5 for him and his team, but never switches off as such.
  14. As long as the audience knows about the sponsorship, it's fine by him. But they do not do sponsored reviews. They are different from sponsored videos.
  15. Negative reviews about a product did not afffect his relationship with any company
  16. Youtube is the gold standard. Every instagram.tiktok creator wants to be successful on Youtube.
  17. Youtube is very saturated. Its been the hardest to stand out and the asiest to get started.