How to find outlier videos (and why only new channels count)
How to find outlier videos on YouTube: what counts as an outlier, why only new, small channels prove anything, the crowding check, and how to bend a format.
By Jordan · Cofounder, Framesail
An outlier video is a video that did far better than everything else on its own channel. The ones worth studying come from new, small channels, because they show what YouTube is willing to recommend from a channel with no history. That's the whole method I use to pick a niche: find those outliers, check the format isn't already crowded, then bend it into something YouTube doesn't have yet.
Why copying a popular video loses
YouTube wants people to keep watching. When two videos are nearly the same, it recommends the one from the channel with subscribers and a record of videos that did well in that topic. A brand-new channel loses that contest every time.
So a new channel can't win by making the same video as a bigger one. It wins by making something YouTube can't already get elsewhere: a format people are proven to click, on a topic nobody big is covering yet.
What an outlier looks like
Picture a channel that started two weeks ago. It has four videos. Three of them have about 1,000 views each. The fourth has 100,000.
That fourth video is an outlier. Nothing about the channel explains it: no audience, no history. YouTube showed that video to strangers, and they clicked and watched.
Why only new, small channels count
A hit on a channel with 2 million subscribers proves very little. That channel already has an audience, and YouTube already trusts it in that topic. You don't have either of those.
A hit on a two-week-old channel proves YouTube will push that kind of video from a channel like yours. That's the signal you're looking for.
These are my rough guides, not hard rules. Everything is relative to the channel's size, its age and how its other videos do.
- An outlier: at least 10,000 views, even on a brand-new channel with no subscribers. 50,000 to 100,000 is a strong sign. And it has to be an obvious jump over the channel's other videos.
- A new channel: about 3 months old or less, with 20 videos or fewer. The newer and smaller, the stronger the signal. A channel's first upload hitting a million views is a huge opportunity.
Work out why it worked
Read the outlier in this order:
- The title. How is it phrased? What makes you want to click?
- The thumbnail. It got clicked, so it's doing something right.
- The video. People kept watching, so the script and visuals held them. Pay attention to how it opens.
Check it isn't already crowded
Viral niches get passed around fast on X, YouTube and Facebook ("this video got 2M views on a channel with 1,000 subscribers"). Within a day there can be a hundred copies, and the copies get no views.
My test: search the outlier's title. If around 20 near-identical videos from the last 24 hours come up, it's crowded. Other signs are seeing it shared on social media, and seeing the people posting in it get no views.
Crowded doesn't mean give up. It means you have to bend further.
Bend it, don't copy it
Keep the title structure and the thumbnail style, then aim them at a different but neighbouring topic.
- Proven: "POV: You're a Millionaire"
- Too close: "POV: You're a Trillionaire". YouTube already has that video from someone else.
- A good bend: "POV: You're a Bank Robber". The format is proven, but the video is new to YouTube.
The easiest way to bend a title is to keep the structure and swap the subject:
| Proven title | Your version |
|---|---|
| POV: You're a Black Market Surgeon | POV: You're an Airline Pilot |
| Why It Sucks to Be an Ant | Why It Sucks to Be an Electrician |
| What Did Ancient Humans Do to Go to the Bathroom? | What Did Roman Soldiers Do to Go to the Bathroom? |
The electrician one is worth a second look: it opens up a whole "jobs" niche, not just one video.
The beginner mistake
The most common reason a new channel gets zero views is copying a popular niche exactly, after a hundred other people already have. If your videos are getting no views, check this first.
If you'd rather start from a topic you love
Same method, different starting point. Pick the topic, then look for outliers inside it. Some topics are too crowded for a new channel to break into (space is one). Look for a corner of the topic nobody has covered yet that still uses a title and format people already click. If you don't have a topic yet, faceless YouTube channel ideas has 25 to start from.
Whichever way you start, aim for curiosity. The title, the thumbnail and the opening should all leave the viewer wanting to know what happens.
Once you've found the outlier and your bend, the next problem is making videos that hold people the way it did, every week.
FAQ
What is an outlier video on YouTube?
A video that did far better than the rest of its own channel. For example, one video at 100,000 views on a channel where the others sit around 1,000.
Why do outliers from big channels not count?
A big channel already has an audience and a record in its topic, so its hits don't tell you what YouTube will do for a new channel. An outlier on a new, small channel does.
How do I know if a niche is too crowded?
Search the outlier's title. If about 20 near-identical videos from the last 24 hours come up, it's crowded. Bend into a nearby topic instead of copying.