Market Mix - 🔍 How to Identify Great Ideas

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I added 30,000+ followers on IG in April. The secret wasn’t volume. But creating a process to filter out good ideas to find the great ideas. So we used a process we learned from Paddy Galloway to identify great ideas.

And as always, thank you to our partners Ahrefs and Heatmap.

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There are 5 hallmarks of a great video idea.

In a recent episode of Sweat Equity, my co-host Brian broke down Paddy Galloway’s 5-step formula for identifying a winning content idea.

For context, Paddy has a YouTube channel with 500K subscribers from just 33 uploads and has helped grow channels like Mr. Beast and RedBull.

And to give you an idea of dedicated idea generation - he typically brainstorms 100 ideas to get to 1 winner.

So here are the 5 key things he looks for.

1: Appeal to Your Core, Casual, and New Audience

Your content ideas need to cater to three audience groups to reach the biggest total addressable market (TAM):

2: Easy to Convey in a Title or Thumbnail

Your content idea should be easy to distill into a clear, compelling title and thumbnail.

These constraints force you to cut to the heart of what makes your video interesting and valuable.

Take our "Good vs. Bad Content" series. The title immediately tells you what the video is about and what to expect.

Ask yourself: Can I convey the key point in a snappy, attention-grabbing title?

The easier it is for potential viewers to understand what your video offers, the more likely they are to watch.

3: Unique & Novelty Value

This is how you stand out in a crowded content feed.

Everyone and their grandma might be talking about Wimbledon, but they're all focusing on the same old angles - the matches, the players, the scores.

But because we approached it from a completely different perspective, dissecting how they promoted the event and engaged fans - we carved out our own niche.

So always ask:

4: Combine 1 or More Viral Formats Together

Your idea should be able to be communicated in at least one viral format for the platform you post on. For us, it’s the talking head format that works so well on IG.

5: Friends Get Excited When You Talk About It

How do your friends react when you share the content idea with them?

For example, when I shared my idea for, “How Wimbledon Gained 1M New Followers in 14 Days” with my COO, Faiez, his reaction told me everything I needed to know.

“Holy shit, that’s f****n crazy.”

That’s how I knew it was a winner.

So pay attention to those emotional cues. More often than not, it's leading you to your next great video.

In partnership with Heatmap

Is Your Brand Still Using Clickmaps?

It’s 2024, and while clicks are nice, revenue is what really matters. 

But when it comes to website optimization, most brands are still making decisions based on where people click.

Here’s why this is a problem:

Click maps are misleading. 

They don’t show revenue. Meaning you're optimizing for tire kickers, not customers.

Alternatively, Heatmap takes 2 minutes to install, and lets you track the revenue tied to every element on your site.

These actionable insights make it easy to make the changes you need to increase:

→ Conversion rates.

→  Average order value.

Don’t just take our word for it.

Essential Essence installed Heatmap back in 2023. Using Heatmap, Revenue Per Session shot up by 24%, resulting in $600,000 in additional revenue.

Think your brand would benefit from higher conversion rates?

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