How 1of10 made $1.4m from just 4,000 followers

1of10 is a SaaS tool for YouTubers that helps you find outlier ideas and thumbnails in your niche with similar target demographics so you can replicate it for your own growth.

Outliers are videos that over-performed relatively to the average views on the channel making those excellent inspirations for your next video since they have been proven to succeed regardless of the niche.

For example, if a video gets 1 million views on a particular channel where most get 300,000 views, it’s an outlier video.

It helps content creators (especially YouTubers) find ideas, titles, and thumbnails faster.

1of10 offers several features:

• Outlier Database: Creators can explore videos that have performed exceptionally well.

• Thumbnail Search: Users can search for thumbnails by color or subject, like finding only red thumbnails or ones with cats.

• Channel Tracking: This feature allows users to keep tabs on any channel they choose.

• Idea Generator: This tool suggests new video ideas by remixing successful formats from other niches.

In just 1 year, they grew the company from zero to making $1.4 million in revenue.

1. The Birth of 1of10

Richard, the co-founder of 1of10, brought valuable experience to the table. He had worked as a content strategist for Mr. Beast and ran an agency serving over 100 YouTubers.

This background gave him unique insights into the pain points of content creators from not just 1 source but 100+ sources so he had a broad idea of needs.

However, he lacked technical skills. Enter Riad, an ex-Microsoft AI engineer with a talent for fast shipping. He was building a thumbnail generator so Richard DM'd him. They met in Spain, hit it off, and decided to collaborate. Their partnership combined industry knowledge with technical expertise.

2. Ship Fast

The duo built and launched 1of10 in just 3 months. They spent only $3,000 on their initial Minimum Viable Product (MVP).

Their philosophy? Don't waste time perfecting, just ship fast.

This approach allowed them to test the market quickly and iterate based on real user feedback.

3. Initial Traction

The success of a video depends largely on its idea, title, and thumbnail. These elements make up about 85% of a video's success. Good editing and storytelling are important, but getting people to click and watch is crucial. 1of10 helps creators by providing a database of successful outliers to inspire new content.

When 1of10 launched, Richard only had 4,000 X followers. However, these followers were all YouTubers looking to grow their channels, a perfect target audience for 1of10.

By sharing case studies and authentic advice, he built trust and social proof. His personal brand was so good that it gave him agency clients as well.

This targeted audience proved crucial. 1of10 achieved perfect product-market fit, generating $10,000 in Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) in the first 10 days after launch.

Their monetization plan includes pricing at $49 per month or $349 per year.

As 1of10 grew to $85,000 MRR in 6 months, competitors like VidIQ and Tubebuddy began copying their concept. They lost about 20% MRR due to it. As of 31st August 2024, it sits at $50,000 MRR.

Despite losing some revenue, 1of10 continued to innovate with new features like the AI-powered idea generator.

4. Marketing Strategies

A. Organic Growth on Twitter/X

Richard's X account is a masterclass in engagement hacking.

Richard focused on doubling down on X, growing his personal account to 12,130 followers and their brand account related to 1of10's YouTube strategy to 9,966 followers.

B. Sponsorships

In 2024, 1of10 began experimenting with different sponsorship types.

• Dedicated Sponsorships: These involve creating an entire video or newsletter centered around 1of10. The content integrates 1of10 into the workflow, making it a part of the main theme. For example, a video titled "How to Blow Up on YouTube" might feature 1of10 throughout, showing how it can help achieve that goal.

• Integrated Sponsorships: These include a short ad, typically 30 seconds to one minute, within a longer video or a newsletter. Integrated sponsorships are less immersive than dedicated ones, as they appear as brief segments within broader content.

They discovered that dedicated sponsorships worked better than integrated ones. By making 1of10 a central part of the content, they could better engage the audience and demonstrate the tool's value.

C. Chrome Extension

1of10 developed a Chrome extension that displays outliers directly on YouTube. This extension increased the tool's exposure and helped attract more users.

D. Influencer Marketing

1of10 partnered with influencers, spending between $1,000 and $5,000 per influencer. Some long-term deals reached up to $20,000.

They also collaborated with Noah Morris for a special promotion, offering both NextLev and 1of10 for $799 as a lifetime deal.

Noah Morris is a massive YouTuber who runs 18 Faceless channels with 2.5 million subscribers.

E. Affiliate Marketing Program

Initially, 1of10 offered a 60% commission to affiliates.

Over time, they adjusted this to 50%, and now it stands at 40%.

They use Rewardful as their affiliate marketing software.

F. Other Marketing Channels

1of10 plans to explore paid ads and focus more on Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

Although they started late with SEO efforts, 1of10 is now focusing on it by writing articles and using tools like Ahrefs and Surfer SEO to analyze competition and improve their strategy.

They have started the 1of10 Podcast on YouTube, which is beginning to generate leads.

Given their expertise, they are considering launching multiple YouTube channels and expanding to short-form content niches.

All in all, 1of10's success can be attributed to its targeted approach and rapid execution. By combining industry expertise with technical skills, leveraging a niche audience, and continuously innovating, they transformed a $3,000 MVP into a $1.4 million revenue-generating SaaS tool for YouTubers in just 1 year.

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